Oklahoma's State Capital Building is Crumbling

[Townsend]

BINGO!

Literally. 

[Conan71]

Literally. 

One night of my 30th HS reunion was in a banquet room at the Hardrock Saturday night.  Depressing looking at the zombies on the gambling floor below.  You just want to shout: "Go home losers! The house ALWAYS wins!"

[Townsend]

One night of my 30th HS reunion was in a banquet room at the Hardrock Saturday night.  Depressing looking at the zombies on the gambling floor below.  You just want to shout: "Go home losers! The house ALWAYS wins!"

Agreed.  Watching a bunch of scraggly haired skeletons in pajamas grinding their teeth is not my thing.

[Townsend]

Kansas Company Selected to Repair Oklahoma Capitol

http://publicradiotulsa.org/post/kansas-company-selected-repair-oklahoma-capitol

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma officials have selected a Kansas-based construction company with experience renovating historic structures to repair the exterior of the state Capitol.

Officials with the state's Office of Management and Enterprise Services announced Monday the selection of JE Dunn Construction to begin the first phase of a planned $120 million renovation of the nearly 100-year-old building.

The maximum value of the contract to repair the building's exterior is $25 million.

Construction is expected to begin early next year to repair extensive cracking and other damage to the stone facade and secure some of the massive stone blocks to the building.

Access to the Capitol's front staircase has been blocked to pedestrians for years because of pieces of mortar and limestone that have fallen from the building's facade.

[Townsend]

Tulsa Construction Company Picked to Restore Oklahoma Capitol

http://publicradiotulsa.org/post/tulsa-construction-company-picked-restore-oklahoma-capitol

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Tulsa-based construction company has been selected to complete the repair and restoration of the interior of the state Capitol.

State officials announced Monday the selection of Manhattan Construction as the contractor on the project. A total of three vendors had submitted proposals.

State Capitol Project Manager Trait Thompson says the interior work should begin next year and will be capped at $91 million.

Renovations to the building's exterior are expected to begin this spring. That contract was awarded to JE Dunn Construction and capped at $25 million.

The Legislature and governor last year approved a $120 million bond issue to repair and restore the nearly 100-year-old building, which is plagued with a crumbling exterior and outdated plumbing and electrical systems.

[Townsend]

Shock me, Shock me, Shock me...

$120 Million Not Enough for State Capitol Repairs

http://publicradiotulsa.org/post/120-million-not-enough-state-capitol-repairs

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Contractors awarded a $120 million contract to refurbish the Oklahoma Capitol say they need more than twice that amount to meet the specifications of the project — money that will be hard to come by in a tight budget year.

The two contractors selected for the project presented $187 million in new spending on Thursday to members of a panel overseeing the project. The new spending includes $122 million to complete the project goals and another $65 million for exterior upgrades that one member referred to as "fluff."

The State Capitol Repair Expenditure Oversight Committee is expected to take a formal vote in February on whether to present the additional funding request to the Legislature.

House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Earl Sears acknowledged the additional spending will be a tough sell.

[cannon_fodder]

If we cut taxes more, will we be able to repair the capital building?

[Townsend]

If we cut taxes more, will we be able to repair the capital building?

I'm pretty sure the building will start to self repair, play classic rock & roll, and Keith Gordon would become Governor.

[heironymouspasparagus]

So now it sounds like maybe $250 to 300 million may not quite do the job...

And these are the same clowns who cut more than $200 million from education!!  I say let the capitol crumble!!  There is ample room on the lawn to bring in some Mini-Mobiles - let them office in those!!  It's perfectly fine to them if our kids get to go to school in them, so why should they have better offices?

Just so their buddies get a 0.25% tax break!!


Disgusting!

[cannon_fodder]

Serious question, because we just did a renovation on this building. Between 1998 and 2002 they finished the dome and restoration work was ongoing since then... until they found the serious cracks in 2014. Most of the structural problems are IN THE DOME.

WHY IS OUR CAPITAL FALLING APART?

The main part is 100 years old, but for a solid structure of steel and stone that isn't really that old. The worst part, the dome, is younger than my high school aged son.

Did we defer maintenance?

Bad designed or poor construction?

Not designed for earthquakes?

It cost $1.5mi to build the thing in 1915. Math tells me that's $35mil in today's dollars. The Dome's total construction cost was $21mil, paid for by our NASCAR like sponsors adorning our public building.

SO--- total cost ~ $50mil.

HOW, in the hell, is it $300,000,000 to fix it?

The building is 450,000 square feet. Ironically, that's $666 per square foot FOR REPAIRS, a new parking garage, a pool and archway.  Devon Tower cost $380 per square foot TO BUILD, and included land acquisition, demolition, parking, etc. The Burj Khalida, the most luxurious and tallest building in the world, cost $450 per square foot to build. You can have my house for $100 a square, and it comes with parking and a hot tub - which is kind of like a pool.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Serious question, because we just did a renovation on this building. Between 1998 and 2002 they finished the dome and restoration work was ongoing since then... until they found the serious cracks in 2014. Most of the structural problems are IN THE DOME.

WHY IS OUR CAPITAL FALLING APART?

The main part is 100 years old, but for a solid structure of steel and stone that isn't really that old. The worst part, the dome, is younger than my high school aged son.

Did we defer maintenance?

Bad designed or poor construction?

Not designed for earthquakes?

It cost $1.5mi to build the thing in 1915. Math tells me that's $35mil in today's dollars. The Dome's total construction cost was $21mil, paid for by our NASCAR like sponsors adorning our public building.

SO--- total cost ~ $50mil.

HOW, in the hell, is it $300,000,000 to fix it?

The building is 450,000 square feet. Ironically, that's $666 per square foot FOR REPAIRS, a new parking garage, a pool and archway.  Devon Tower cost $380 per square foot TO BUILD, and included land acquisition, demolition, parking, etc. The Burj Khalida, the most luxurious and tallest building in the world, cost $450 per square foot to build. You can have my house for $100 a square, and it comes with parking and a hot tub - which is kind of like a pool.

And I am not being at all disingenuous when I say we should let them set up in mobile-mini's.  But if we insist on having a capital building, tear down this old POS and just build new!!

Two big problems - low bid from "good buddy" builders.  And then as we have seen here, after getting into the process, the low bid is found to be 'inadequate' so they come back to say "Please, sir, I want some more..."

As in;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZrgxHvNNUc


And yet....again...we keep electing these clowns...!!

[AquaMan]

I have changed my opinion on its restoration. Drop the thing and move headquarters into a (soon to be) abandoned oil company tower. Or elect a more intelligent, reality based, honest, pragmatic legislature and governor. Either one is about as likely.

[swake]

I'm on board with this. The state capital building is ugly anyway, the only redeeming feature is the sculpture at the top. The complex around the capital is even worse and it's in a miserable part of Oklahoma City.

Kill it with fire. Start over and build a new capital building somewhere else with the $120 million.

[cannon_fodder]

...build a new capital building somewhere else with the $120 million.

State of Sequoyah, with Tulsa as the capital?

[Conan71]

I'm on board with this. The state capital building is ugly anyway, the only redeeming feature is the sculpture at the top. The complex around the capital is even worse and it's in a miserable part of Oklahoma City.

Kill it with fire. Start over and build a new capital building somewhere else with the $120 million.

There IS a certain unfinished building down along the Oklahoma River that already has had plenty of public funding thrown at it.