Virginia General Assembly moves to new home after delay

RICHMOND, Va. (CN) — Six years, three governors and a pandemic later, the oldest continuous lawmaking body in the Western Hemisphere has a new home.

Virginia's new General Assembly building is slated to open to the public on October 11. The new 14-story building will house committee meetings, the offices of Virginia's 100 House of Representatives members and 40 state Senators offices.

"This greatly anticipated and first purpose-built building for America's oldest continuous lawmaking body is a win for the people of Virginia whom we serve," Virginia House of Delegates Speaker C. Todd Gilbert said in a press release.

Lawmakers began pondering the idea of a new building over a decade ago but did not move out of their old dwellings until 2017. The old building, four connected smaller buildings, had issues with asbestos, mold and dated amenities. Clerk of the Virginia House of Delegates and Keeper of the Rolls of the Commonwealth G. Paul Nardo referred to the old building as the bride of Frankenstein due to its less-than-stellar construction.

"It had character, but it was a building that was never intended to be used for any public space," Nardo said.

For the last few years, lawmakers have crammed into Virginia's Pocahontas office building, while multipurpose rooms in the Capitol hosted committee meetings during construction.

Nardo said it was difficult to complete a large-scale project with a rotating door of new lawmakers.

"We did have some rough spots between the executive and the legislative branches early on," Nardo said. "It's a challenge because personalities get in, but when you try to focus on what's important for the building, we seemed to be able to still come together to get things done."

Legislators moved into the now-demolished General Assembly building in 1976. Before that, the officers were in rooms in the Murphy Hotel, where bathtubs stored filling cabinets.

In the old building, committee rooms were too small, relegating public members interested in sharing their opinions to wait outside. Senate Clerk Susan Clarke Schaar, who has worked at the Capitol for 50 years, recounted a meeting to discuss a bill regarding fox penning; pro-hunting advocates filled the committee room, leaving no room for animal rights advocates.

"We said, we are sorry we don't have a larger room, but if y'all would like to have us raise taxes, we will be glad to do that and build a new building," Schaar said.

The first four floors are for public use and include a cafeteria and cafe, 200-plus-seat auditoriums and several press rooms. Leadership is treated to immaculate views from top floor offices. The design incorporates the original 1912 facade, which was stabilized during demolition.

"This blending of old and new is indicative of the legislative body itself, tracing its roots to 1619 but taking a contemporary approach to lawmaking with an eye always on Virginia's future," Shaar said.

Besides having a non-mold-infested building, the priority was to create a place where the public could comfortably come and watch the legislative process. School groups that would eat bagged lunches on their buses, for instance, will now have a dining area.

Construction was challenging as employees for three of the site's subcontractors settled claims of unpaid wages and misidentifying workers for state tax purposes. Supply chain issues also challenged the developers, who struggled to get overseas technology during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Originally slated to open in 2022 but delayed by supply chain issues, the project has a final budget of around $290 million.

With all 100 seats in the House of Representatives up for grabs this November, it will be a while until constituents know who will be moving into the new building for the 2024 session.

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