Banshee Tewalde, director of the Department of General Services, told the Senate Finance Appropriations Subcommittee on Capital Outlay and Transportation that work is under way on multiple large capital projects, including Central State Hospital, a new facility for the Department of Forensic Science and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), a proposed consolidated public‑health laboratory, and a study that recommends the VDOT Annex as the preferred site for a new state office building.

Tewalde said Central State Hospital is a 461,000‑square‑foot project authorized with 252 beds. She described progress on structural steel, precast walls and interior framing and said contractors expect structural steel and precast walls to be completed in June 2025, the building to be dried in by December 2025 and substantial completion in 2027. "Mechanical, electrical and fireproofing is ongoing," she said.

The DGS presentation said the Department of Forensic Science and OCME will be co‑located on a Hanover site. Tewalde said the programed facility will total roughly 281,000–295,000 square feet with about 350 parking spaces on 22 acres and that equipment startup began in late 2024 with substantial completion anticipated in December 2025; moving staff is expected early in 2026.

On the Governor's introduced budget and related study language, Tewalde said a work group examined renovating the 7th and Main Street (the former Virginia Employment Commission building) versus new construction at the VDOT Annex. "We came to the conclusion that the best possible site for the new state building would be at the VDOT Annex," she said, citing location near the seat of government, operational advantages for DGS facilities staff and uncertainty and cost risks tied to renovating the older Annex. The budget transfers remaining detailed planning funds for 7th and Main to the proposed new office building and proposes selling 7th and Main, with proceeds to the general fund; the final building size and scope will be determined during detailed planning.

Tewalde said the introduced budget includes funding to renovate state‑controlled swing space and to keep tenant moves from Monroe on hold until the study is complete. She listed an inventory of executive‑controlled space that DGS plans to use first and described a $35 million allocation in the Governor's introduced budget to renovate roughly 70,000 square feet of existing state space and to cover relocation costs to lease and state spaces during the transition.

On the Commonwealth's Courts Building, DGS told the committee that demolishing the East and West Towers will allow a more efficient layout. The revised program was described at about 295,159 (square feet or program units as presented) compared with an earlier program estimate described in the presentation as 325,000. Tewalde said the new plan adds courtroom and gallery seating for the Supreme Court (program target between 200 and 240 seats), space for 17 Court of Appeals judges resulting from a legislative expansion, and about 31 additional parking spaces for judges. The demolition window for the towers was described as January–December 2026, with a return to the committee later for full construction approval.

Tewalde described a proposed consolidated Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS) public‑health lab at a site in Hanover adjacent to the Department of Forensic Science, asking for detailed planning funds in the introduced budget. The presentation said the planned DCLS facility would expand the current footprint (presented as growing to about 299,000 square feet with roughly 78% lab space and 13% office space), and Tewalde said the administration recommends locating the project on land now owned by VDOT and requested roughly 21.1 acres of that parcel for the lab.

The Governor's introduced budget, the DGS director said, would also fund a new State Police training academy (a proposed 184,000‑square‑foot facility to replace aging buildings), a proposed relocation of the Fleet Operations Center (DGS currently maintains more than 3,000 vehicles and serves roughly 175 agencies from the Richmond Lee Street site), and renovation of the Patrick Henry building, which DGS said has not had a full renovation since 2005.

Committee members asked detailed follow‑ups. Senator Deeds asked whether parking at the VDOT Annex would be underground; Tewalde answered yes. Senator McDougall asked whether the DCLS site land is owned by VDOT; Tewalde said it is and that roughly 50 acres are owned, with DGS seeking about 21.1 acres for the lab. Tewalde said timelines for design and construction vary by project and that some projects will require multi‑year phasing.

The department emphasized that final program size, parking arrangements and disposition of Monroe will be settled in later planning stages and that proceeds from a potential sale of 7th and Main would be transferred to the general fund if the sale is approved. Tewalde closed by offering to answer committee follow‑ups and to provide additional technical information to staff.

Next steps described by DGS include completing detailed planning for the state office project, returning to the committee for construction authorization for the courts building, continuing equipment startup and furniture installation at the Forensic Science/OCME project through 2025, and advancing design for the DCLS lab and State Police academy if funding is approved.