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Virginia Capitol Connections, Spring 2017
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Transition
By Bonnie Atwood
The Virginia Legislature is nothing if
not resilient. The oldest continuous law-
making body in the NewWorld will not miss
a beat when it moves to temporary quarters
for the next four years, during which, the
General Assembly Building (GAB) will
be demolished for complete renovation.
The gentlemen and gentle ladies have been
making laws since 1619, in various locations beginningwith Jamestown,
then on toWilliamsburg, and finally, in 1780, Richmond.
The General Assembly Building on Capitol Square, just north
of Thomas Jefferson’s Capitol Building, has a colorful history all its
own. The old ornate section was built in 1912. Newer sections were
constructed in 1965 and combined with the old in 1976. Preservationists
are delighted to learn that the old façade will be saved and incorporated
into the new building.
In the meantime, where will they “make the sausage”? Before bills
become laws, they are extensively discussed in legislators’ offices, at
conference tables, in subcommittee rooms, and in committee rooms.
This beehive of activity has to be located somewhere.
Almost the entire operation will relocate to what is known as
the Pocahontas Building, which has been serving as headquarters for
the Virginia Attorney General, his staff, and other state offices. The
Pocahontas Building is down the hill from the old GAB and has two
entrances—one on Bank Street facing the Capitol and one on Main
Street in the heart of the city’s financial district.
As visitors to the GAB know, during General Assembly Sessions,
from January to April, the building is home not only to legislators and
staff, but to swarms of lobbyists, constituents, school groups, and most
notably large groups observing their own “Lobby Days,” when the
whole membership comes to make their case about crime, land, health,
education, transportation, and let’s be honest—money. This adds up to
many people per square foot, especially on the biggest Lobby Day of
all—the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
Where will these people walk, stand, sit, and participate in the
discussions that affect their lives? This kind of transparency has always
been important at the GAB, and the legislature has no intention of
letting that disappear during this transition.
Led by a team of people, including Senate Clerk Susan Clarke
Schaar and House Clerk G. Paul Nardo, and their staffs, the transition
appears to be progressing in good time and as smoothly as possible. Other
significant partners are theVirginia Department of General Services and
Gilbane Building Company. Gilbane also did the renovations on the
Virginia State Capitol.
Senator Richard L. Saslaw (D-35th) praised their work and spoke
about one of the biggest concerns—crowd access.
“Over the years, we have seen a large increase in the number of
visitors during Session to the GAB,” he said. “Between check-in lines
sprawling up Capitol Square and periodically snaking up the street,
navigating the building was less than ideal. If I recall correctly, we saw
over 55,000 guests this past General Assembly.”
The biggest challenge, said Mrs. Schaar, is “moving so many
different agencies and numbers of people, in a timely fashion. We are
fortunate that the Pocahontas Building is located close to the Capitol.
There are going to be some space drawbacks, but I think it will meet our
needs over the next four years.”
These planners are doing a “wonderful job,” said Jay T. Braxton,
assistant clerk for the House of Delegates, but it is hard to leave a
building that feels “as comfortable as an old slipper.” In spite of various
complaints about the GAB (the heat, the cold, the cracks), people who
worked there knew it well and made it work. They will have to get used
to a new building and “the stakeholders will get used to it, too,” he said.
“There will be a new rhyme and rhythm.”
Those of us who have been in the Pocahontas Building have been
asking, “How in the world will this work?” The building is divided into
two compartments, both of which have a closed in feeling. The word
“claustrophobia” comes to mind.
The square footage is comparable, said Braxton, and the building
has been changed a lot. There will be three large committee rooms
(seating over 175 people): one for the House, one for the Senate, and one
shared (which will be used for things like the money committees). They
will also use House Room 3 in the Capitol, and they may use House
Room 1. There will probably be seven subcommittee rooms, as opposed
to the five at the GAB, and in most cases, the rooms will be larger. This
is still a plan in progress. Constituent groups may still reserve these
rooms through their legislators, but they will not be serving coffee and
food as they have in the past.
One thing that could not fit into the new scheme is a cafeteria,
but SunTrust Bank, across Main Street, has offered the use of its third
floor cafeteria. Main Street will probably be the entrance for the public.
Legislators and lobbyists will likely be using the Bank Street doors.
The corridors have been widened, which will ease the strain of
Lobby Days, said Braxton. The East and West wings of the building
have been opened up, and you can walk around more easily. The East
wing has six floors; the West wing has 14 floors. There are two banks
of elevators—three for the East, and five for the West. As in the GAB,
Delegates and Senators will have offices on their separate floors, with
leadership suites on the sixth floor. Appropriations will be on the 13th
floor; Senate Finance will be on the 14th floor. A few changes include:
JLARC space at SunTrust, and things like legislative services will be
less consolidated.
There will be improved signs, such as to the stairs and the elevators,
and there will be more receptionists. Joann Bennett has done a legendary
job of holding down the first floor reception desk, and now we will
see receptionists on other floors as well. Audio-visual aids will still
maintained “at a high level.”
“It’s going to work,” said Mrs. Schaar. “Adjustments to change are
always a challenge.” She added that there will be space for the media
and there will both a House and Senate briefing room. She said she
expects that people will find the new space “bright, sunny, clean, and
positive, and with some challenges.”
That said, it’s hard to say goodbye to our “old slipper,” as Braxton
suggested.
“For me personally,” said Saslaw, “moving out of my legendary
office (previously occupied by Hunter Andrews) is my biggest hurdle in
this move. I have been in the office over two decades, and it was filled
with many memories.”
To walk the halls of the GAB this past week is to enter a ghost town.
You can see farewell remarks written on the walls. This reporter walked
down the beautiful gray marble stairs, and was a queen one last time.
One savors the idea that the old façade will be preserved for, as Mrs.
Schaar said, its “amazing details of craftsmanship.”
“The bottom line is this move has been planned, budgeted, and will
be executed,” said Saslaw.
All of this construction is expected to be completed by the end of
June. Start saving your money for the tag sale in July. The upcoming tag
sale looks to be a dream-come-true for those of us who like to collect
Virginia memorabilia. Braxton said the sale, date to be determined,
will include used furniture, old GAB fixtures, the old signs that told us
whether the sessions were “in” or “out,” and the typical odds and ends
of an office building from days gone by.
“What may be junk to one person can be a treasure to another,” said
Braxton. Look for old photographs of legislative wheeling and dealing
that may be exciting to the armchair historian. One room will be set
aside for such browsing. It will be on Capitol Square, but we do not yet
know exactly where. Many of us are breathing a sigh of relief that these
things are destined to go to people who value them, rather than to the
City trash heap. Proceeds will go to the Virginia Capitol Foundation.
Bonnie Atwood, J.D., is a writer with Tall Poppies Consulting, and
represents legislative clients with David Bailey Associates. She
is not a queen; she just pretends to be one. She can be reached at
V