OKLAHOMA CITY – A $70 million revenue bond issue to “renovate, repair and remodel” the interior and exterior of the 84-year-old Jim Thorpe Building in the State Capitol Complex has been endorsed by the Legislature.
House Bill 3571 cleared its final legislative hurdle on May 18 and was sent to the Governor’s Office for his signature.
Other occupants include the Department of Public Safety, the American Legion, the Arts Council, the OMES Training Center, storage for the Attorney General’s Office, the State Election Board, which has offices in the State Capitol and in the Jim Thorpe Building, plus a vending and snack bar.
The building has 158,895 net rentable square feet, 12,925 of which is vacant, according to Caden Cleveland, OMES director of legislative and public affairs.
The Jim Thorpe Building was constructed in 1938, during the administration of Gov. Ernest Whitworth Marland, an oilman and former congressman.
The state hired an architectural firm in Fiscal Year 2015 “to do some conceptual design of what the restoration would look like and need to include,” Cleveland said. “This was based on the current tenants of the building, best workflow use of space, and other codes, Americans with Disabilities Act, mechanical, electrical and/or plumbing changes that may be needed for a modern work environment.”
The cost estimate in FY 2015 was $48.46 million. However, “with the latest information available on market increases, a 40% increase was projected to be added for today’s cost,” Cleveland said. Consequently the estimated price tag was “rounded up to the current $70,000,000.”
HB 3571 states that the Legislature intends to appropriate to OMES “sufficient monies to make rental payments for the purpose of retiring” the bonds.
The bill would authorize the Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority to hold title to the building and its improvements and lease it to the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services until “final redemption or defeasance” of the “obligations.” At that time, title to the property would be transferred to OMES.
Interest that bond buyers earn on the notes “shall not be subject to taxation of any kind” by the State of Oklahoma, or any municipality or county or any other political subdivision.
HB 3571 creates a Jim Thorpe Repair Expenditure Oversight Committee that is to deliver a “preliminary plan” for rehabilitation of the building to OMES Director Steven Harpe by Dec. 31, 2022. OMES’ director will be expected to “substantially implement the plan as presented” by the oversight committee.
The design-build vendor will be selected via a request-for-proposals process, the legislation stipulates. The Oversight Committee also will “oversee the expenditure of proceeds” from the sale of the bonds until the improvements have been completed.
The committee will consist of nine members: three appointed by Governor Stitt, one of whom will chair the panel, along with three Representatives appointed by Speaker Charles McCall and three Senators chosen by President Pro Tempore Greg Treat. Two of the House members and two of the Senators will be Republicans, and one member from each chamber will be a Democrat.