Work continues in the northeast corridor of the Capitol on Wednesday. The $131 million renovation project has focused on one quadrant of the 100-year-old building at a time to limit the disruption of employees.
HAYDEN ROONEY, Journal Star
Chairs and computers sit wrapped in plastic in the Capitol's west chamber.
Nebraska's Capitol, a treasure chest of art and stone bound to the state's history and pride, has a friend.
Bob Ripley looks after the great building, whose construction began a century ago, and he is now guiding what ultimately will be a $131 million project to totally renovate its heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system through a COVID-delayed path to completion.
A politically conservative state has registered no objections.
A fiscally conservative governor and Legislature are all in.
"This is clearly the most comprehensive work on the Capitol since construction," Ripley says as he sits across a table in the secluded state law library tucked away on the third floor a few steps away from a balcony that overlooks the building's majestic rotunda.
Cost of the HVAC project, which won't be completed until 2026, has jumped by $25 million due to COVID-19 hyperinflation and supply chain issues and the cost of delay.
Ripley is Capitol administrator working with the Nebraska Capitol Commission and his core job has been to restore, preserve and protect the Capitol.
The two final elements of original plans for the Capitol already have been completed under his watch.
Eight murals were installed on the 14th floor in 1996.
Fountains have been constructed in the four Capitol courtyards, with dedication in 2017.
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The HVAC project "will allow us to clean up an enormous number of problems with the building," Ripley said. "It's a big, complicated building."
The Capitol was constructed over a 10-year period from 1922 to 1932 at a cost of just less than $10 million. It was fully paid for when finished in the throes of the Great Depression with taxpayers incurring no debt.
Today, the Capitol hosts 100,000 visitors a year, including 25,000 to 30,000 school children, and it dominates a skyline that is restricted to assure and protect the structure's ongoing prominence.
This is a building with nearly a thousand windows; some of its stone came from Italy, France and Belgium a century ago. It could not be duplicated today.
"It was a state of the art building" when constructed, Ripley said, and it was first air-conditioned in the 1960s.
Once completed, the modern new HVAC system is going to recover 550 square feet of space, he said.
"It's like putting an addition on the building."
"When we renovate and preserve the Capitol, we think in terms of decades," Ripley said. "And doing things well now will save us money in the long run."
Below the tower, HVAC work has focused on a single quadrant of the Capitol at one time, limiting the disruption of employees who need to continue their work in temporary quarters while their workplace quadrant is impacted.
Gov. Pete Ricketts has been spared such disruption since he works in the quadrant that will not be impacted until after he leaves office in January. Gov.-elect Jim Pillen will not be as fortunate when work moves into the governor's office quadrant in Phase 4 next July and he is temporarily displaced.
"COVID threw us a curveball unlike any I have experienced in my career," Ripley said. The resulting impact was hyperinflation, pipeline supply chain problems, delay and increasing costs.
But the work went on.
"And there will always be work to do" after the HVAC project is finally completed, Ripley said.Â
Preservation, restoration, renovation, enhancement, there still is a cherished building to protect.
Work continues in the northeast corridor of the Capitol on Wednesday. The $131 million renovation project has focused on one quadrant of the 100-year-old building at a time to limit the disruption of employees.
Former Capitol Administrator Bob Ripley led the renovation of the building's heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, which is slated for completion in 2026. Ripley retired Friday.