The Florida Senate is having a facelift, waving goodbye to its 1970s look after spending $5 million in renovations this summer.
Senate President Andy Gardiner announced the changes in January, but actual construction didn’t begin until after this year’s legislative session adjourned.
This isn’t the first renovation the Florida Capitol has seen in recent years, with the last upgrade taking place in the Florida House of Representatives in 1999 under former Speaker John Thrasher. That renovation cost $7 million, a slightly higher price tag than the 2016 renovations.
The current Florida Senate is now unrecognizable, as the floor has been completely gutted. Desks are gone, carpet has been torn out and there’s no podium for the Senate President, but the area will quickly be revamped in time for the Florida Legislature’s organizational session, which will take place in November.
The state Senate contracted with three different firms to complete the construction project: Allstate Construction of Tallahassee (which will be doing the building), Hicks Nation Architecture (which is responsible for the new design of the Senate chamber) and Spitz Inc., which is responsible for the dome fabrication.
The Senate has had a contract with Hicks Nation Architecture since 2003. John Nation will be the primary architect of the project.
Each firm was selected with input from the Department of Management Services using various consultants with experience in building and renovating public spaces.
State senators had some input on what the new Senate chamber will look like. Senate President pro tem Garrett Richter, R-Naples headed a Chamber Renovation Working group which included several senators: Sens. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, Tom Lee, R-Brandon, Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, and Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland.
The group decided to incorporate many different design elements into the new Senate chamber, spearheading a more classic look akin to the Old State Capitol in Tallahassee. The senators took elements from the second Senate chamber which was torn down once the new Capitol was built in the 1970s.
Some aspects of the chamber will be like the same design in the Old Capitol, like the dome design and historical molding. The new dome will be completely white like the 1947 Senate chamber.
The old desks from the Senate chamber will be replaced. There will also be a pediment over the president’s rostrum, which will be the same design as the front of the Old Capitol, which is right across the street from the current Capitol.
Senate President spokesperson Katie Betta told Sunshine State News the last few weeks have been full of changes to the look of the Senate Chamber.
“Within the last two weeks, they have completed the demolition phase,” she told SSN.
And as for the noise? It doesn’t seem to be much of a problem so far, despite the serious demolition.
“It’s not consistently loud,” Betta said. “The noise varies from day to day.”
The construction project will be completed before the organizational session, which will take place Nov. 22.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
