A major upgrade of the Hawaii State Capitol to refurbish core functions of the historic structure could cost as much as $100 million and keep the building closed for a prolonged period of time.
State Comptroller Keith Regan said basic building infrastructure such as the electrical, water and wastewater systems in the Capitol are outdated and aging, and components of the air conditioning system also need to be replaced.
“The internal guts of the building, the mechanical and the electrical systems, are beyond their life and need to be replaced so that we prevent any sort of potential major building failure and shut down,” he said.
Regan said estimates of the total cost range from $50 million to $100 million, but it is not yet clear when construction will start or how long the work will take. The project will require the Legislature and the offices of the governor and lieutenant governor to temporarily relocate.
Gov. Josh Green’s proposed budget for the next two years includes $2 million for preliminary planning for the project, including identifying alternate sites where lawmakers, the top executive branch leadership and their staff could operate during construction.
Previous repairs didn’t fix everything
The Capitol building was originally built for $25 million and dedicated in 1969. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978, and features striking design components such as the two cone-shaped structures that symbolize volcanoes rising out of the ocean.
The building was designed to be open and welcoming to the public, with a wide lanai on each floor where politicians and community members have traditionally mingled during the legislative sessions.
The building underwent major renovations in the 1990s that cost more than $69 million, and included costly work to remove asbestos from inside the structure. But Regan said important electrical and other infrastructure was not replaced as part of that project.
“Unfortunately, I mean, we’re really just looking at the things that hadn’t been addressed during the ’90s, that should have been addressed in terms of infrastructure,” he said.
The backbone infrastructure in the building wasn’t replaced as part of the 1990s renovation, according to the Department of Accounting and General Services, because there was not enough funding to do so.
In the last two decades the state has spent more than $56 million on an array of smaller repair projects such as replacing roofing and ceiling components, renovating the elevators and refurbishing cooling systems.
The Capitol’s reflecting pools, a major architectural feature of the building, are now being replaced as part of yet another $63.1 million project to resolve longstanding problems with leaks into the offices and parking facility below.
That project will include waterproofing the pools, replacing the water feature with a glass-like surface, and associated construction.
“At the end of the day, what we want to do is address all of the lingering issues that have existed in that facility for decades that we just have not been able to address,” Regan said.
“Imagine during the middle of a session if the system, the electrical system failed, and what kind of impact that might have, right?” Regan said. “I mean, it would be very, very disruptive, and we don’t want to go down that path.”
The state also needs to upgrade the data systems in the building to support the rapid expansion in video conferencing and streaming in the wake of the pandemic.
Where to move the legislature?
But moving lawmakers and the governor’s office to locations where they can continue to function — and the public can participate — is complicated.
To prepare for the Capitol renovations in the 1990s, the state developed the Leiopapa A Kamehameha Building — better known as the State Office Tower — at 235 South Beretania St. to house the Legislature, governor and other agencies. That tower is now 100% occupied.
Regan is not ruling out the possibility the state might do something similar this time around.
Finding a suitable place may involve buying or leasing a downtown office building, he said, or perhaps redeveloping a site such as the land under the Kīnaʻu Hale building at Punchbowl and Beretania streets. That structure now houses the state Department of Health.
Green’s request that lawmakers earmark $2 million would allow them to hire a consultant to develop those kinds of options. How the relocation issues are resolved would partly drive the timeline for the rest of the Capitol project.
In a written statement, Green said: “The state Capitol sorely needs critical renovations amounting to a major overhaul of systems including electrical, water, sewer, air conditioning systems and certain elevators. Failing to do so will put the facility at risk for forced closure.”
Asbestos was a headache before, and could be again
The last Capitol renovation project 30 years ago proved to be a major headache for former Gov. John Waiheʻe’s administration, in part because removing asbestos from the building triggered change orders and delays that drove up the cost of the project.
More than three decades later, “it’s the same thing. I mean, the Capitol has to be renovated again,” Waiheʻe said.
Asbestos was a commonly used fire-retardant in the 1960s that was banned in building construction in 1978. It had been installed throughout the Capitol building, and safely dealing with it dramatically increased the cost of even simple work such as changing out a light fixture, Waiheʻe said.
Finally, “we had to do it. I mean, there’s a point where you’ve got to do it,” he said.
“You know, we’re not the best place when it comes to maintenance — real, active, continuous maintenance,” Waiheʻe said, referring to Hawaii generally. He cited the examples of the Hawaii Convention Center’s leaking roof and the closure of the deteriorating Aloha Stadium.
Waiheʻe said he was assured all asbestos had been removed from the Capitol during the project in the 1990s, but “perfection always is a difficult standard.” He acknowledged more might be discovered once work gets underway.
Regan said the planned Capitol project involves “extensive work that has been held off for literally decades. And things don’t get cheaper.”
“So this, this is a long project. This is going to be a complex project. It’s probably going to end up being a very costly project,” Regan said. “But you know, this is such an important piece of our community, this asset, the facility itself.
“The Capitol really is the people’s place, and we need to care for it that way.”
This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.