MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Dozens of members of the Alabama House and Senate gathered Thursday on the sixth floor of the RSA Plaza building in Montgomery to celebrate the ‘topping out’ ceremony for the new State House, a construction tradition that celebrates the completion of a building’s structural framework.
The new State House is currently under construction adjacent to the existing State House, and slated for completion in late 2026.
With an estimated price tag of $292 million, lawmakers first entered into an agreement with the Retirement Systems of Alabama to have a new State House constructed in 2023, with plans soon drafted for a seven-story, 460,000-square-foot facility. The Legislature will lease the building from RSA and the system will get an 8% return on its investment. David Bronner, head of RSA, spoke at the topping out ceremony to the benefits of lawmakers congregating in a space better designed for legislative proceedings.
Speaking with Alabama Daily News, Bronner also noted the benefits of the new State House for ordinary Alabamians visiting the facility.
“The big thing is the public has got room now to come to the Legislature, to come to a meeting on education or the General Fund, they can get into the place compared to the old one,” Bronner said. “It’s a big job, but it’s so overdue.”
The existing State House was opened in 1963, and originally housed the Alabama Department of Transportation. State lawmakers moved into the building in 1985, originally intended as a temporary measure while the State Capitol Building was undergoing renovations, but ended up remaining there indefinitely.
Now more than 60 years old, the existing State House has outlived its expiration date some lawmakers say, among them House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville.
“This building was not made for what we do,” Ledbetter told ADN. “The meeting rooms aren’t big enough, there aren’t enough offices, the mold is really not a good situation, so we’re happy to be at this point, to give and to get something that the people of Alabama will be proud of.”
As of mid-February, construction on the new State House was on schedule and under budget, about 90% of all construction contracts already awarded, the majority of which were awarded to Alabama-based companies. Later on Thursday, the House passed a bill that would authorize the Legislature to contract for the demolition of the existing State House, the cost of which remains unknown and is not included in the $292 million price tag for the new building. Nor is a nearby parking garage and green space where the current building stands.
Rep. Chris Blackshear, R-Smiths Station, echoed Bronner’s comments in that he was most looking forward to the expanded access for the public.
“The number one thing is it is the people’s house, and it’s a better place for the citizens of Alabama,” Blackshear told ADN.
“They’re gonna actually come visit, get to know who’s here representing them, and hopefully, for the future Alabamians that want to get in the politics and take an interest in what’s going on in their state, it gives them more of an inviting place they can come be a part of the process.”
