Initial construction starts on new Alabama State House

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Alabama lawmakers have been informed that the initial phases of construction on a new Alabama State House are underway.

Legislators in both the House and Senate were recently provided with three photo renderings showing them the external design of the new facility, the layout of the second floor’s large committee spaces, as well as the fifth floor, which will be home to both legislative chambers.

The process of replacing the current Alabama State House is one that’s years in the making. While initial steps are bringing the new complex closer to reality, however, there continues to be considerable work to finalize the design of the interior.

“I can’t give you an estimated cost,” said Alabama Senate Secretary Pat Harris. “As far as the money is concerned, RSA is funding the projec, and we’ve reached an agreement with RSA, Retirement Systems of Alabama, to help fund the construction of the new building.”

More than a year ago in Sept. 2022, the Legislative Council adopted a resolution directing the Secretary of the Council, the Secretary of the Senate, and the Clerk of the House to begin discussions with the Retirement Systems of Alabama about potential costs and options for new or relocated legislative facilities.

In April, an inter-agency agreement was reached with RSA to solicit proposals from qualified architectural/engineering firms for consulting, development, design, cost estimating, testing, and related services to study the design and potential construction of a new Alabama State House.

In July, a full report on the progress of the RSA process was given to the Legislative Council, which voted to authorize contract negotiations for construction and lease with RSA.

In September, the Council voted to allow execution of the contract with the RSA to begin construction and to set up a six-member subcommittee to oversee the design process. That subcommittee approved an initial design to move forward with construction on Oct. 27.

The new home of Alabama’s Legislature will be located on what is currently a parking lot behind the current state house. It’s expected, now that approval has been given to move forward, that site work will start immediately and that foundation work will begin around the start of 2024 and completed in three years.

The current statehouse, built in the 1960s as the home of the state highway department, later became the home of the Legislature in 1985 when it temporarily moved out of the Capitol due to renovations there. Lawmakers never returned to the Capitol.

Over the years, the building has been plagued by mold and other issues, in addition to overcrowding problems.

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