Gov. Mike Parson supports buying the Missouri Department of Transportation headquarters, at 105 W. Capitol Ave., seen here on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023.
JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Mike Parson’s administration is pursuing a plan to buy a building Missouri taxpayers already own without publicly sharing any information about its condition.
The price tag for the 1920s-era Missouri Department of Transportation headquarters could be as high as $50 million.
Amid ongoing discussions over a long-sought rehabilitation of Missouri’s century-old state Capitol building, Parson told the Post-Dispatch that he supports a plan to buy the MoDOT facility located just steps away from the seat of state government.
“If there is ever an opportunity to do that probably now is the time,” Parson said. “I hope that it gets done. I’m a supporter of that.”
However, the governor’s own Office of Administration, which manages state-owned buildings and oversees state payroll, does not have any records showing the condition of the facility, said spokesman Chris Moreland.
Officials also don’t have any reports showing how much deferred maintenance is needed to keep the building from crumbling, Moreland said.
MoDOT, too, has not shared any documentation showing the building’s condition.
“I’m sorry I don’t have any information on this,” agency spokeswoman Linda Horn told the Post-Dispatch last month.
But, Moreland confirmed that talks about the purchase are moving forward.
“OA has been engaged in ongoing discussions with the Missouri Department of Transportation concerning the acquisition of the MoDOT General Headquarters and annex buildings located within the State Capitol Complex,” he said.
Discussions about the building come as a commission that oversees the Capitol is attempting to move forward on a $755 million makeover of the Capitol building.
A vote to move forward on the renovation has been delayed while the MoDOT discussions play out.
Senate Administrator Patrick Baker, who chairs the Missouri Capitol Commission, said the panel may not meet again until after the start of the legislative session in January.
“That will give everyone plenty of time to get all the information they need,” Baker said.
The MoDOT headquarters, home to about 400 employees, is part of a complex of government buildings that dot Jefferson City and employ thousands of state workers.
The building is controlled by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, which is funded separately from the rest of state government via the constitution.
Supporters of the purchase say the building was constructed using money from gasoline taxes, not general tax revenue that flows into state coffers.
Under one scenario, MoDOT would move out of the building to other facilities in the state to make way for other potential uses. In the past, officials have debated moving some legislative and administrative offices currently housed in the Capitol into the transportation building.
“I think if you really want to do something long term… that’s really the best opportunity we have,” Parson said. “I think that’s the only facility we’re ever going to get to make sure we can expand the Capitol complex.”
Plans for the century-old Capitol, which have been under discussion since 2016, include the removal of parking in the Capitol basement and the replacement of the current parking structure used by the Senate with additional spaces for both the executive branch and the general public.
The building would gain an estimated 100,000 square feet of space for lawmakers by extending the basement south toward High Street, which is Jefferson City’s main downtown street.
There also could be an underground visitor center on the north side of the Capitol that could be the entry point for the estimated 450,000 people who visit the building annually.
The plan would move some of the executive branch operations, such as the governor’s budget office, out of the Capitol to nearby state office buildings.
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Photographs from St. Louis Post-Dispatch staff for the week beginning Oct. 15, 2023. Video by Beth O’Malley
Beth O’Malley
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