JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri lawmakers may soon be considering an ambitious plan to expand and renovate the state Capitol building.
A year after workers finished rehabilitating the exterior of the century-old structure for about $55 million, top administrators in the House and Senate told a House panel Monday that it will cost an estimated $535 million to repair and expand the interior.
House Clerk acknowledged the price tag is high.
“This is a $500 million plan,” Rademan Miller said, pointing to a booklet describing the potential work. “We call this document jokingly the ‘shock doc.’”
State officials have been mulling an overhaul of the offices, hearing rooms and marble-lined corridors that make up the nearly 500,000-square-foot building for more than a decade.
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The latest plan, which was launched in 2016, would remove parking in the basement and replace the current parking structure used by the Senate with additional spaces for both the executive branch and the general public.
The building would gain an estimated 100,000 square feet of space for lawmakers by extending the Capitol basement south toward High Street, which is Jefferson City’s main downtown street.
There also could be an underground visitor center on the north side of the Capitol that could be the entry point for the estimated 450,000 people who visit the building annually.
The plan also would do away with a 1970s-era change that placed members of the House into mezzanines on the first and second floors, which has cut off the natural light that was part of the original design.
“The goal of the restoration is to restore the architectural integrity of the Capitol or to return the Capitol architecture to its original design and decoration,” the master plan notes.
The plan would move some of the executive branch operations out of the Capitol, such as the governor’s budget office, to nearby state office buildings.
The governor’s office on the second floor also would be extended to the first floor with an interior staircase, eliminating the need for office workers to walk into the public corridor to get to another office in the suite.
Some lawmakers on the House Budget Committee said the need for upgrades is significant.
Rep. , D-Hillsdale, said bathrooms throughout the building are not compliant with the Americans for Disabilities Act.
Others said there are structural problems in the facility.
“We have gaping holes next to our offices,” said Rep. , D-Kansas City. “That continues to be a frustration of mine.”
Rademan Miller said continuing to repair things as they break is not a viable long-term plan for keeping the building intact.
“The Band-Aid approach is not working,” Rademan Miller said.
The lengthy project would not result in the closure of the Capitol during the construction period.
To pay for the renovations, the state would sell bonds and pay about $50 million per year for the next decade. Officials also want to use a portion of the state’s share of federal emergency stimulus money to help pay for it.