The Legislative Council, a panel of 20 Alabama lawmakers, heard an update Wednesday on the construction of a new Alabama State House.

The Retirement Systems of Alabama is building the project, which is under way on the east side of the current State House on Ripley Street, a block that was previously a parking lot.

Bill Wallace of Goodwyn Mills Cawood, the lead architect, said the goal is to complete the building by the end of 2025.

Othni Lathram, director of the Legislative Services Agency, said the expectation is that the building will be ready for Legislature to use in January 2027.

The RSA is paying construction costs. RSA CEO David Bronner said in December the building is expected to cost $300 million to $350 million. The RSA will lease the building to the Legislature under a contract that calls the RSA to earn an 8% return on its investment.

A second phase will include demolition of the existing State House and development of a park area on that site, along with a pavilion and an underground parking deck.

Lathram said a preliminary estimate on the second phase, is about $100 million. The Legislature intends to pay cash for the second phase.

Wallace showed the Legislative Council a slide presentation with images of the new building, including the front side, which will face west toward the park space and the State Capitol. The design includes six columns and a dome to blend in with the other buildings in the Capitol complex. Slides showed the layout floor-by-floor, including the meeting chambers for the House and Senate on the fifth level and the galleries for the public on the sixth.

You can see the slide presentation here.

The State House project has been in the works for more than two years and was talked about many years before that.

The current State House is a 60-year old structure originally built for the Alabama Highway Department. The Legislature has used the retrofitted building for its meeting chambers and offices since 1985.

Problems cited with the building include limited space for public access, poor accessibility for people with disabilities, flooding and mold.

A facility assessment conducted by an engineering firm in March 2020 found that the eight-story, 315,000 square foot building needed $51 million in repairs, renovations and replacements over 10 years.

In 2022, the Legislative Council directed senior legislative staff officials to explore the idea of a new State House and have discussions with the RSA.

In May 2023, the Legislature passed a bill to help clear the way for the project. The bill gave control of the state-owned property that is site of the new State House to the Legislative Council. It gave the Legislative Council the authority to contract with the RSA for construction and maintenance of a new State House. The site was previously used as a parking lot.

In September, the Legislative Council voted to sign a construction agreement with RSA on the project.

The RSA has a long track record of building projects that across downtown Montgomery over the last several decades. The investments, like the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and resort hotels around the state, help support the funds that pay pensions for retired state employees, education employees, and employees of local governments.