FOX 40 News
By Sergio Robles
July 4, 2023

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(KTXL) — Work crews and a large crane were spotted Monday demolishing a corner of the Capitol Annex, the 5-story structure connected to the historic state Capitol that housed legislators’ offices and committee hearing rooms since it was completed in the 1950s.

The demolition work is part of a plan that will eventually see a new structure built in its place that is connected to the main building, although the design of the new structure has not yet been finalized.

The new construction is expected to include a larger building that will allow for larger offices and spaces where the state government can conduct its work, as well as a redesigned visitors’ center and a possible expansion of the underground parking garage.

Legislators and state office holders like the governor and lieutenant governor moved out of the Annex in 2021 and have been working out of a new state building two blocks from the state Capitol.

The facelift project started in 2016 but has faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lawsuits.