A legislative oversight subcommittee recommended only minor changes to the proposed Library and Archives building, eschewing design and location alternatives that had been suggested by some House Republicans leaders.

The subcommittee also recommended retaining Holder Construction as the construction-manager-at-risk in order to avoid further delays on the project and hiring a third-party project manager to help oversee construction.

The recommendations are forwarded to Legislative Council for approval at an upcoming meeting. A date has not yet been set for the meeting.

At a Legislative Council meeting last month, some lawmakers advocated reexamining the project and suggested moving the building closer to the House of Representatives, where it could also provide office space and covered parking for legislators.

Since 2004, the site for the building has been defined in session law as the northwest corner of 19th Avenue and Jackson Street. Design work for the 125,000-square-foot building is about two-thirds complete. The subcommittee recommended Legislative Council authorize DWL Architects complete the design, a process that could take up to eight weeks.

A representative of the architecture firm told the subcommittee the building being designed now would barely fit on a site directly north of the House of Representatives identified by some lawmakers, but there would be no room for landscaping, delivery bays or parking. Incorporating covered parking – either in a garage below the building or on the roof – would dramatically increase the cost of construction.

In February, the State Library Board approved the design of a building that would cost $35.7 million, though DWL Architects estimates the project will cost at least an additional $1.8 million because construction costs have risen in that time.

70,000 square feet of shelving needed

GladysAnn Wells, Arizona State Archives director, said the building plan includes about half of the specialized shelving it will eventually have. A full complement of shelving will give the building a 25-year lifespan. Roughly 70,000 square feet of shelving will be needed to accommodate the archives that will be moved into the building upon its completion, she said.

The only changes the subcommittee recommended were the elimination of an overflow parking lot behind the building and the renaming of a 2,000-square-foot meeting room. In the current plans, it is designated a “legislative meeting room.” The renaming was suggested because the subcommittee members felt the Legislature would very rarely use the room.

The subcommittee also recommended using the construction-manager-at-risk selected for the project by the Department of Administration. Originally, the building was under that department’s oversight, but last year’s budget transferred control of the project and $30 million to complete it to Legislative Council. Mike Braun, Legislative Council executive director, said the Council had no obligation to honor the contracts with the architect and contractor selected by DOA.

Speaker of the House Jim Weiers, R-10, was seen by some as the driving force behind reconsidering the scope and location of the archives building. He was unavailable for comment, but a spokesman said Mr. Weiers only wants to make sure all of the alternatives for the project are explored. Several issues still need to be resolved, said House Republican spokesman Barrett Marson, including whether construction costs can be reduced to fit the existing $30 million appropriation.

However, Senate President Ken Bennett, R-1, told the subcommittee he wouldn’t support any plan that tried to shoehorn the building into the current appropriation if it adversely affected the ability of the project to meet the state’s needs. He said he has always envisioned an increase to the $30 million and that appropriation was “rather arbitrary, in the sense that it was a nice, round number.”

If anything, Mr. Bennett said, the state ought to build more space for archiving since the state will undoubtedly need it in the future.

“My only concern, frankly, is that we’re not building enough,” he said. “If we need one of something, we ought to be building two.”