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Capitol View®
Tom Scheck

Construction to begin on Senate office building

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Construction on a new Minnesota Senate office building is scheduled to begin Wednesday.

The work can proceed following the state's sale of  $85 million in bonds at a 3.7 percent interest rate to pay for construction.

Lawmakers finalized the spending for the building earlier this year, but even as work gets underway the facility remains a campaign issue.

Republicans say the building isn't needed and have criticized Gov. Mark Dayton and his fellow DFLers in the Minnesota Legislature for approving it. Democrats say the building will help replace space lost to lawmakers in a separate State Capitol renovation.

April estimates said taxpayers will pay for $77 million of the project. Capitol complex parking fees will pay for the remaining $13 million. Department of Administration spokesman Curt Yoakum said the final numbers are being changed as a result of the bond sale. He said he expects the construction cost of the building to go down and the parking facility fees to increase. Yoakum said the numbers will be finalized after construction firms bid on the project.

Yoakum says construction crews will start with perimeter fencing, asphalt, curb and tree removal and heavy equipment staging. The project is expected to be completed by December, 2015.