SD55 - Review of the 900 East Main Street Building Renovation Project


Executive Summary:
The 900 East Main Building is a building complex overlooking Capitol Square in Richmond, Virginia. It has approximately 356,000 square feet of space. It consists of a west tower with fourteen stories built around 1926, and an east tower with six stories built around 1968. In 1989, the General Assembly appropriated approximately $11,865,000 to purchase the building. After months of negotiations, the building purchase was concluded in February 1990. In 1990 the General Assembly appropriated an additional $22,116,500 for renovations to the building.

The purpose of the renovation project was to renovate the building to provide space for State agency operations, including the Department of Information Technology and its computer operations. A decision was made by the Department of General Services (DGS) to perform the project in two phases. The first phase was to prepare for the renovation. This phase included abating asbestos in the building (which entailed removing, containing, or encapsulating asbestos with the intent of avoiding future asbestos disturbance). The second phase was to be the actual renovation work to make the building suitable for State agency tenants. Phase one asbestos abatement and demolition work occurred between June 1991 and October 1992. Phase two renovation construction work began in January 1993.