State legislators and the governor will have a $113 million decision to make this fall on a proposal to double the size of Legislative Hall and build a 350-vehicle parking garage nearby.
The Legislative Hall Building Committee, formed last year, is studying a list of needs and building plans and working with architecture and engineering firm Studio JAED. The committee must make a recommendation by Oct. 1.
The proposal, discussed most recently in July, includes:
- A $22 million parking garage on the site of the parking lot near Del One Federal Credit Union at the corner of Water Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard South. The secured lower level would be reserved for legislators, with parking for the public on the three upper levels.
- A pedestrian tunnel under Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard South from the parking garage to Legislative Hall; however, the cost of a pedestrian bridge is also being studied.
- A $29.5 million addition to Legislative Hall at a new main entrance to the building, more office space, new bathrooms and a new cafeteria. Renovations, estimated at $4 million, will include expanding the public viewing areas in the Senate and House chambers and converting the current cafeteria into offices.
- An open-air courtyard surrounded by the existing building and the addition with landscaping that requires minimal maintenance, mostly raised beds, pavers and ornamental trees.
Committee chair Ryan Dunphy, the Senate secretary, said the proposal for the Legislative Hall addition includes four main areas: better accessibility for people with disabilities, security improvements, more office space and technology improvements.
“We’re starting to compile all the information we’ve gathered into one report for distribution to the General Assembly and the governor,” Dunphy said.
One change would address both accessibility and security. Now, the main entrance and security screening area at Legislative Hall is on the west side, up two sets of stairs, while the entrance accessible to people with disabilities is on the east side. The proposed new main entrance for everyone would be on the east side, accessible for people with disabilities, with a larger area for security screening.
Technology upgrades include improving streaming services on the state website of legislative sessions, hearings and committee meetings.
Four monuments around Legislative Hall will have to be moved during construction, and the plan is to put them in new spaces on the east side of the addition which will be near the new main entrance.
Rep. Tim Dukes, R-40th District, said while he prefers the tunnel, which could cost $2 million, he’d like to see if a pedestrian bridge from the parking garage to Legislative Hall would provide “major cost savings.”
Legislators and the governor already approved $11.1 million for work on Legislative Hall in the bond bill for fiscal year 2023, including $4 million for the new architectural and engineering design.
Timeline of plans and proposed construction
The process for the construction proposals started more than a year ago when House Joint Resolution 3 was signed Aug. 4, 2021, forming a Legislative Building Committee to study and recommend a plan to address the technology, security and space needs for Legislative Hall by Oct. 1, 2022.
The bill states “there is an evident need for adequate office and other facilities to house the members of the General Assembly and its staff….” and “the present facilities are inadequate and cannot be converted to meet this need in an efficient and economic manner.”
Updating technology capabilities in the building are needed “to ensure an open and transparent government.”
The bill also refers to “recent events” at the U.S. Capitol and state capitols that have highlighted “the need to review and address the security needs of the building to ensure a safe and inviting workplace for the members, staff and the public.”
The last major renovation and expansion at Legislative Hall was completed in 1998.
The 14-member committee includes three members of the House of Representatives, two Democrat and one Republican; three members of the Senate, two Democrats and one Republican; the chief clerk of the House, the secretary of the Senate, the controller general, the chief of the Capitol Police or police designee, the director of the Division of Research and three citizens.
They started meeting in November, when they authorized the Division of Facilities Management to perform a “space study” of Legislative Hall. The division hired architectural and engineering firm Studio JAED.
In April, the committee heard a presentation by Studio JAED president and CEO Phil Conte on the space study, current and future needs, and a proposal and timeline for a feasibility study. The committee voted to authorize the Department of Facilities Management to hire Studio JAED to complete the feasibility study.
Conte said representatives of his company had met with city and state agencies to discuss the proposal and used their comments to start shaping the feasibility study.
“Our recommendation would be, you need to build this parking garage first, then move to the building,” Conte said.
Completing the garage would provide space for construction crews to park, contractors’ mobile offices and storage for construction equipment, and possibly parking for the public since spaces will be lost around Legislative Hall while the addition is built.
The proposal calls for the garage’s appearance to “fit into historical context,” Conte said, with brick veneer and dormers with a look similar to Legislative Hall..
If legislators and the governor approve the project, the first steps will be planning, design, the bidding process for construction contracts and rerouting traffic around the site.
Construction on the parking structure would start in August 2024 and last until December 2025.
Work on the addition is scheduled from July 2025 to June 2027.
Finishing touches will include moving in furniture, removing construction equipment and temporary barriers and reopening roads, with everything wrapping up by December 2027.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com
