With new hearing rooms, a restored rotunda, and earthquake-ready foundation upgrades, the $596 million renovation of the Oregon State Capitol is nearly complete. Union members did most of the work, thanks in part to a project labor agreement (PLA) in place for the last two of three project phases.
The Capitol Rotunda reopened in September after being closed to the public for nearly three years. Workers repaired hairline cracks in the inside ceiling of the rotunda and repainted it, requiring scaffolding nearly 100 feet high. By the time the legislature convenes for a short session on Feb. 1, most of the interior work will be completed, including a new cafe.
Then on Nov. 17, other portions of the Oregon State Capitol reopened, including a basement level with four new hearing rooms.
The renovation will finish in 2026, a decade after the legislature funded the first of three phases.
For Bricklayers Local 1, the project has provided years of work for members, including those working for signatory contractors Pioneer Waterproofing and Roedel Tile.
Pioneer took more than 750 pieces of travertine, marble and granite from the building, labeled them, stored them while other crafts did renovation work, and then reinstalled the stones. BAC Local 1 Business Manager Shawn Lenczowski said Bricklayers had installed the marble decades prior. On the back of a marble slab removed from the building, workers found the signature of a now-retired Local 1 member.
Phase 1 of the Capitol project involved disability access upgrades; renovations to visitor areas and some offices; replacing aging plumbing, electrical systems, and skylights; and some safety improvements, for a price tag of $59.9 million.
Phase 2 made seismic, accessibility, and safety improvements to the wings on either side of the building, which house offices for state legislators. Phase 2 was completed in 2023 and cost $70.8 million.
For the third and final phase of the project, the legislature approved $465 million. Hoffman Construction is the general contractor, with SRG Partnership, Inc., as the architect of record.
In Phase 3, construction crews led by Pacific Foundation dug deep underneath the main Capitol building, which opened in 1938, and installed 160 base isolators. Base isolators separate the building from the ground so that the building won’t move even as the ground moves during an earthquake. Crews also built a dry moat around the building, with the trench preventing the shifting ground from slamming into the sides of the building during an earthquake. Most of the moat isn’t visible because it’s covered with plates that are designed to buckle in the event of an earthquake.
Laborers Local 737 Business Manager Zack Culver said the project showcased the careful work and strong collaboration of the trades, through the selective demolition, precision work to transfer the weight of the building from its original foundation onto shoring towers and install base isolators, and meticulous restoration work. Culver said Local 737 members have been on the project since the start, including on demolition, with signatory contractors like Pence/Kelly Concrete, Interior Exterior Specialists, and Coffman Excavation.
Throughout the work on the foundation and seismic upgrades, the building moved less than one-eighth of an inch.
The Capitol’s basement, which it refers to as the concourse, used to feel dark and dreary, Capitol Accessibility, Maintenance and Safety (CAMS) Project Director Jodie Jones said. But the remodel resulted in higher ceilings and a brighter, more open, feel. Existing hearing rooms were renovated, four new hearing rooms were added for legislative committees, and a small cafe was replaced with one twice the size.
In addition to the excavation and steel work, the project involved new finishes and maintaining or upgrading existing features in a range of materials, from terrazzo flooring and travertine walls to detailed wood work.
“In all of this work we did, we had to figure out: How do we save the historic nature of the building itself and all the architectural features?” Jones said.
The construction maintained the heritage feel of the Capitol, but left behind the features that made the building inhospitable to people with disabilities as common as arthritis. The original doorknobs included the state seal, but were replaced with level-style handles — made with the state seal — because round doorknobs can be difficult to use for people with conditions that impair grip strength or fine motor skills. New staircases have deeper steps and continuous handrails, providing more stability for users.
All in all, well over 2,500 people have worked on the project, Jones said. During peak construction, there were between 200 and 250 construction workers on site at once.
Phase 1 of the CAMS project was mostly done by non-union workers, said Oregon Building Trades Unions Executive Secretary Robert Camarillo.
When Camarillo became leader of OBTU (formerly known as the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council), he was bothered by the fact that there wasn’t a PLA for the Capitol construction project.
“We’re inside that building talking about PLAs and wanting other people to use PLAs to deliver their projects, but then there isn’t one right here on this major project,” Camarillo recalled.
In March 2020, the building trades councils and craft unions signed a PLA with Hoffman Construction for Phase 2 of the project. Camarillo said the PLA wouldn’t have happened without the support of Gov. Tina Kotek, who was then Speaker of the House.
In 2022, Hoffman and the building trades unions extended the PLA to cover Phase 3.
MORE: SEE MORE IMAGES OF THE CAPITOL PROJECT HERE.
