Every lawmaker gets a window. Inside a new $423 million, no-bid Sacramento building

In a rush to rebuild lawmakers’ offices, state officials last year waived a standard government construction process to put up a $423.6 million building in downtown Sacramento without soliciting bids from multiple contractors.

The result has California state government constructing a new tower, deemed the Capitol “swing space,” in near-record time, accommodating special requests from lawmakers to design a structure that can temporarily house their offices, the governor’s suite and committee hearing rooms.

The effort ensures that every lawmaker’s office will have a window, and avoids moving the Legislature during an election year, when members are occupied by campaigns. It also uses an expedited environmental review not available to most other California construction.

City officials say the speed comes with a cost.

The new structure at 1021 O Street won’t immediately have the features city leaders have been seeking in downtown buildings, such as retail space and restaurants, raising worries that the tower is a missed opportunity to rebuild Sacramento’s skyline with the city’s interest in mind.

“O Street is a disaster,” said Councilman Steve Hansen, who represents Sacramento’s downtown grid. “It will be a dead zone if that building doesn’t have any ground floor activation. It’s sort of prioritizing state operations over the community’s best interest.”

Hansen’s irritation stems from the Legislature’s vote last year to gut the so-called Capitol annex, a 67-year-old warren of offices that many regard as a death trap because of its limited emergency exits, lack of fire sprinklers and narrow hallways.

Assemblyman Ken Cooley, D-Rancho Cordova, the brains and heart behind the project, worked for years to make a case to replace the annex.

His efforts culminated last year, when former Gov. Jerry Brown approved a $1.2 billion plan to tear down the annex, temporarily house the Legislature in a new state building and construct an upgraded structure attached to the Capitol for legislative work.

“You have 120 people who have taken this oath of office to build the future. They embody this office. Therefore, their work is an extension of what they are personally able to accomplish,” Cooley said.

Cooley, who’d waited years for the opportunity to realize his vision of an annex reflective of California’s rich history and diverse culture, seized the opportunity afforded by the state’s recovery from the Great Recession.

He mapped a plan to build the temporary office space on O Street by 2021 and the full Capitol Annex by 2025.

But the tight schedule pressured the Department of General Services to work faster than ever to build a new state office building.

To save time, the Legislature gave the department the authority to skip the normal bidding process, a provision tucked into a budget bill in 2018.

Instead, the department offered the opportunity to Hensel Phelps, the second place-bidder on another downtown project.

Hensel Phelps was not promised the work when the Department of General Services invited the firm to develop 1021 O Street. The firm had to draw up the plans in close coordination with the state, and both sides had to agree on a price, said Jason Kenney, deputy director of the real estate services division the Department of General Services.

They settled on $423 million for a 472,000 square foot building that is expected to become a general state office building after the Legislature moves out. That price is about what Brown budgeted for the building before the state began negotiating a contract.

That so-called “progressive design model” let the state break ground on the building after just months of planning. Normally, that takes two years.

It was something the department had never done before.

“It’s not really something the state has had the authority to do” in the past, Kenney said.

It’s something the Legislature plans to do one more time when it prepares to pick a contractor to build a new visitor center for the Capitol annex.

Why the rush?

Cooley hoped to find the least-disruptive window for the move. Relocating the governor, 120 lawmakers and their staff — 1,250 people in total — was not going to be easy.

“The Legislature operates on a biennium,” Cooley said. “What’s the best time time to move 120 people to minimize disruption? Fourth quarter of the odd year.”

That “sweet spot” of an off-election year at the end of the legislative cycle only comes around so often, Kenney said. And with money already on the table, the department had to move quickly.

Contracting directly with Hensel Phelps shaved about 14 months off what a project of the swing space’s scope and size usually demands, said Jeffrey Wellenstein, project manager of the construction group which includes HOK and Dreyfuss + Blackford.

“It lets you go faster,” Wellenstein said, because “you’re selected based on qualifications” rather than using required criteria to draft a proposal to then wrangle for the contract against other bidders.

At its peak, around 400 personnel will work on-site to finish construction. Two cranes are working on it now.

But the streamlining didn’t set well with some of Cooley’s colleagues, particularly among Republicans frustrated by the Legislature’s decision to exempt the project from the state’s rigorous environmental reviews and bidding regulations.

“I find it extremely hypocritical that we tell local governments that they must comply with the state contracting code for their requirements, but then we exempt ourselves from our own largest project,” said Assemblyman Jay Obernolte, a Republican from Big Bear Lake, during a floor vote to approve the measure.

What’s inside

When they move in to their temporary digs, lawmakers will find some perks. Each one will get a window office, a benefit all of them do not receive now. Fourteen Assembly members do not have windows in their personal offices, according to Debra Gravert, chief administrative officer for the chamber.

They’ll also get some additional space to accommodate visitors and employees with disabilities. The modern exterior will match a contemporary interior, with California-minded sustainability features that aim to limit greenhouse gas emissions and energy use.

“State-of-the-art” technology, heightened security measures and comfortable hearing rooms are also on deck, with a grab-and-go third-floor cafe, outdoor terraces in the “heart” of the building and pedestrian-friendly walkways decorated by fresh greenery and benches as a bonus.

The 10-story swing space will include one floor for the governor, according to interviews with the project’s construction team and details included in documents obtained by The Sacramento Bee through the California Public Records Act.

Other features include:

• Senate and Assembly offices will average 985 square feet, according to DGS, though they’ll likely range in size to consider staff numbers and the lawmaker’s ranking. A freshman member, for example, as well as Republicans who tend to get smaller offices, shouldn’t expect more space. Current offices range in size according to party and prominence. For example, Republican Sen. John Moorlach’s office is 803 square feet, according to the records. Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, a Democrat, has an office more than twice that size.
• The two largest hearing rooms will be on the ground floor of the building, with two more a floor above.

• Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins are expected to move into the temporary spot, Cooley said. They’ll also maintain office space in the Capitol, though a portion of their current suites could be sectioned off for caucus rooms to be used during floor sessions.

• There will also be a three-floor parking garage to accommodate 135 cars, DGS confirmed.

With logistical headaches like purchasing furniture baked into the design team’s contract, legislators can expect just a “box move,” said Joel Griffith, capital outlay program manager for the Department of General Services.

Sacramento’s changing skyline

About $4 billion in state government construction is expected in the Sacramento region over the next five years, with big projects downtown and along Richards Boulevard.

To city leaders, the investment offers a chance to remake Sacramento’s downtown into a walkable streetscape where people will want to linger after the workday.

At least for now, 1021 O Street will not have ground-level features like restaurants, a childcare facility and retail space originally floated in early design conversations for the building.

The swing space will be converted in its “second life” to a standard government building after lawmakers move back to the Capitol in 2025, which could open discussion to additional amenities.

In the meantime, Kenney said, existing restaurants already sprinkling the periphery of the Capitol should serve the area well.

Hansen, the city councilman, said the building at 1021 O Street is an example of the “creative tension” the city experiences with state agencies.

“DGS has a very linear approach to this stuff and we’d like them to be more holistic,” Hansen said. “We have a good working relationship but they don’t always take our feedback.”

Hansen said he’d also like to see the state invest in transportation corridors surrounding the new buildings, a sort of financial courtesy to Sacramento and a hat tip to the city’s responsibility for maintaining the flexibility of its roads.

“We want to make sure it’s done in a way that’s complementary to the city to keep the roads safe, support infill housing in the core and meet our climate goals. While they are creating this legacy that is really important for us and the state, ultimately the challenges that will result from not always being able to do this holistically will land in the city’s lap,” Hansen said.

Newsom’s opportunity

Throughout the development of the project, Cooley, who speaks of the annex’s history with particular romanticism, maintained another, more ceremonial vision for the project.

Should all go according to plan, Gov. Gavin Newsom would have the opportunity to christen a new executive suite in the annex at the start of his final year in office.

“It’s my job to get it done while Gavin is still around,” Cooley said. “Newsom will be able to preside over the people’s house his entire last year of office. Make it a sort of yearlong, California celebration. And that also means that the Newsom team would have the privilege of deciding how they want an executive suite organized.”

The construction team said they met with Newsom’s office following his election to gather notes on his expectations for his swing space office. Due to security measures, Griffith said, details of that meeting are not publicly available.

While it’s premature to design floor patterns, square footage and other details, Newsom’s office said the team would focus on being “good stewards of public funds.”

The goals are to “address the current infrastructure challenges,” spokeswoman Vicky Waters wrote in an emailed statement, to “ensure legislative and executive staff can continue conducting the people’s business; and preserve public access to this wonderful piece of history.”

The article was updated at 7:50 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10 to clarify that the Legislature will use a progress design bidding process to develop the Capitol annex visitor center, not the Capitol annex.

This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Every lawmaker gets a window. Inside a new $423 million, no-bid Sacramento building."