The Legislative Building Committee voted to approve submission of the 60% design documents for the Legislative Hall addition and an adjacent parking garage to the Division of Facilities Management on a voice roll call that registered 13 yes votes and several absences.

The vote completes the committee’s review of the 60% design set prepared by Studio Jade and allows the Division of Facilities Management to begin its review. Committee Chair Ryan Dunphy, secretary of the senate, opened the meeting and introduced presenters Phil Conte and Gabe Chung of Studio Jade, who summarized design details, schedule, budget updates and construction delivery approaches.

The architects described the parking garage as a three‑story structure of roughly 42,000 square feet with precast wall panels and brick veneer. The design includes 97 restricted parking spaces for legislators and staff and about 248 public spaces. Studio Jade noted current surface parking at the Del-1 lot provides about 175 spaces and said some surface parking around the perimeter will be retained after construction.

Studio Jade and committee members discussed schedule changes. The firm said planned bidding for the garage in early 2025 may slip slightly as the team finalizes approvals and gives the Division of Facilities Management adequate time to bid. The architects said construction activities are expected to overlap across 2026 and 2027 and warned of parking limitations from July 2025 through project construction into December 2026.

The presenters attributed the schedule slippage primarily to additional stormwater management work discovered while layering the Legislative Hall addition design over the garage site; they said some stormwater scope deemed necessary for the addition will be best accomplished on the garage site, which required added civil work and produced an unintended delay.

On budget, Studio Jade reported the current estimate is about 2–3% higher than previous feasibility‑study figures because of added allowances, contingencies and the additional site work. The firm said the garage estimate was roughly $33 million and that the garage funding is in place; the addition’s delivery is expected to use a construction manager to assist with phasing, costing and constructability, while the garage will be procured as a general‑contractor lump‑sum bid.

The presentation outlined a tentative construction start for the addition in July 2026 and an estimated substantial completion in July 2028, with turnover and move‑in occurring in the third and fourth quarters of 2028. Studio Jade said a 90% submission is scheduled for the third quarter of 2025.

Committee members asked about emergency vehicle access and site materials. Studio Jade said the design accommodates a fire truck lane across the front of the addition for emergency access; the lane will be visually integrated into the plaza using pavers and will include breakaway bollards and signage so routine vehicular traffic is not present except for emergency or maintenance use.

After the presentation and questions, Committee Vice Chair Rich Puffer moved and Chief Harris seconded a motion to approve the 60% submission to the Division of Facilities Management; the motion passed on the roll call. The committee also approved the meeting minutes from Dec. 10, 2024 earlier in the session.

There were no public comments at the end of the meeting. The committee said programming meetings (to review floor plans and furniture layouts with modeled visuals) will take place in March, typically on Mondays and Fridays, and that the committee will set a late‑spring meeting date (April–June) for its next full update.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of Dec. 10, 2024 meeting minutes: motion by Rich Puffer, second by Chief Harris; roll call recorded 12 yes, 5 absent; outcome: approved.
- Approval to submit 60% Legislative Hall addition and parking garage documents to the Division of Facilities Management: motion by Rich Puffer, second by Controller General Miller; roll call recorded 13 yes, several absent; outcome: approved.

(All vote tallies and participant status are reported as recorded during the meeting roll calls.)

Ending

The committee instructed staff to proceed with the 60% submission and to continue programming meetings; no formal additional directions or conditions were placed on the submission during the vote.