Legislative offices near completion of $14 million overhaul
A nearly $3 million project to complete upgrades to five hearing rooms and to install multimedia presentation systems should be finished by mid-January. Previous work on those rooms last year included mold abatement and carpet replacement.
“It is the first remodeling we’ve really done here in 30 years,” said House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington.
Also in 2004, $8.2 million was spent to repair leaks and water damage from the Legislative Plaza roof that doubles as the outdoor War Memorial Plaza.
“To fix the roof of this building when you have two fountains and lots of trees, it takes some doing,” Naifeh said.
The Legislature had considered constructing a purpose-built structure to house lawmakers and staff, but escalating costs made that prohibitive, Naifeh said.
Original estimates for a new building had been in the $40 million range, Naifeh said, but when they ballooned to $70 million, the decision was made to instead repair the existing offices.
“Today it would well run $100 million to build a new legislative office building,” Naifeh said.
The renovation and improvements at Legislative Plaza are meant to return the complex to the state-of-the-art status that it held three decades ago, said Charles Garrett, assistant commissioner at the Department of Finance and Administration.
Other upgrades to the hearing rooms include improved handicapped access, climate control, lighting and sound. Wireless Internet access has also been installed.
The final part of the overhaul is to repair and replace chronically broken escalators and elevators at the complex. That $2.2 million project is expected to be completed by November.
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