DGS updates senators on Capitol Square projects, Central State demolition and property sales

The Department of General Services told the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Capital and Transportation that a slate of state building projects and property sales are moving forward and that recently completed facility condition assessments will guide maintenance and funding priorities.

The DGS director told the committee the agency has completed facility condition assessments around Capitol Square and has recently finished the Pooler Veteran Care Center in Warrenton, which held an opening ceremony about a month ago. "We have now completed all facility condition assessment around Capitol Square," the director said, noting the assessments will be used to prioritize maintenance-reserve funding and timing for future requests.

The agency said the James Monroe Building has been marketed for sale and that a final call for offers is scheduled in the coming weeks; DGS expects the sale to coincide with staged tenant moves out of Monroe, with the department aiming to vacate the building by June 2026. The director estimated Monroe is roughly 75% occupied at present and said some tenant moves (including DHRM and the Department of Accounts) are likely to begin in March.

DGS also described work at the Patrick Henry Building, financed for the first time in the current budget cycle for comprehensive renovations. The director said floors five through seven are complete, furniture installation is under way on the sixth floor, and cabinet secretaries are expected to move into renovated space within about 10 days.

The department reported substantial completion in December 2025 of a new forensic science building intended to house the medical examiner and the Department of Forensic Science. The director said the facility will initially accommodate roughly 195 employees on one side and 65 for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, with an opening ceremony planned after March.

On Central State, DGS said it will demolish 31 buildings beginning after the 2026 session, followed by a pause during the reconvene session and then resumption of work. The director said an earlier $6 million economic incentive authorization did not attract private demolition proposals and that, because of funding limits and hazardous materials in some structures, the agency will demolish a subset of buildings and market surplus property for economic development. "The cemetery will remain," the director said, and staff emphasized that historic-building reviews and deeper DHR assessments are under way to determine what must be preserved.

The department also described several other projects: expansion of a veterans cemetery in Suffolk to provide more than 1,000 crypts (mostly federally funded) with completion expected December 2026; working drawings for a Museum of Fine Arts (construction to start August 2026, completion anticipated in 2029); and a state police training academy of about 127,513 square feet, with design underway and contract award and construction targeted for 2027.

Committee members asked for more detailed facility-condition indices and follow-up materials on specific properties; the director agreed to provide those reports. The presentation closed with introductions of DGS team members, including Mike Nolan (division of real estate), Kelly Zioli (budget director), Sandra Gill (deputy director), Charles Quaglieto (division director, transcript shows a variant spelling), and Jackie Lipford (communications director).

Next steps: DGS will deliver requested assessment indices and follow-up feasibility information to the committee and continue project procurement and demolition planning as described.