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About $1.4 million in repairs will begin next week on the State Office Building after a broken valve last month sent water cascading through five floors. All members of the Minnesota House and Republicans in the state senate have their offices in the building across the street from the Capitol.

The Department of Administration received the repair estimate last week and work is set to start soon and run through October. Aside from a $100,000 deductible, the fix will be covered by insurance.

Chris Guevin, director of plant management for the agency, said another $150,000 to $200,000 was spent in the weeks after on sopping up the excess water and removing materials that were damaged beyond repair.

"To date everything has been cleaned out and now we're ready to replace," Guevin said this week. "Rebuild those walls, rebuild those ceilings and put that carpet that down."

It was in the wee hours in early July when Guevin's phone rang to alert him to the flood in the empty building.

"You know you have a sinking feeling. It's kind of like you're on a ship and it's going down. I got the call early in the morning and we came out and took a look and, wow, it's pretty extensive," he recalled.

Think of it like a garden hose running unattended for hours, but inside instead of outside.

What started as a steady leak in the ceiling above the fourth-floor bled through the tiles, onto desks, into carpet _ on that floor and filtered all the way to the basement.

Workers soon ripped out soggy carpet, drywall and insulation. Some walls were pulled all the way back to the studs or cinder block. Legislators packed up belongings they could salvage and their furniture is covered in plastic wrap. Work papers had to be laid out to dry if they weren't ruined.

The repair estimate from Thor Construction includes new millwork, carpet, fixtures, wall-coverings, alarm systems, paint and the like in the 84-year-old building.

The 11-week project on the building's east side will displace lawmakers and their aides in the meantime, including some with vital roles in the ongoing special session discussions. House Speaker Kurt Daudt's own office wasn't affected, but his top aides didn't escape damage and Daudt's office is included in the construction zone.

State property managers have been urging for years that the building get a much more substantial renovation to replacing aging pipes, heating and cooling systems and other critical mechanical features.

The cost for that could be tougher to swallow -- 

"Even with this repair, the systems are still a few decades old and really do need to be replaced because they've exceeded their life expectancy."

But just as they celebrate the Capitol's grand re-opening next year after a multi-year, $300 million restoration, lawmakers might be in no mood for another disruptive and expensive project so close to home.

Politics and Government News

Capitol View®

Brian Bakst

Author

In Capitol restoration's shadow is a less-glamorous repair job ahead for a key legislative workspace.

$1.4 million fix ahead for State Office Building

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