[nfbmi-talk] capitol view Senate Digs

[Terry D. Eagle]

Note;  Just another Governor Snyder political donor pay-off.  Just follow
the money trail from political contribution to a 30-year building lease,
even though the bid was admittedly not the best deal.

And Snyder and the legislature desire we the taxpayers to ultimately donate
with a sales tax increase?  Go figure.  Follow the money!

 

 

Michigan Senate moving forward with plans to spend up to $70M on new office
space

capitol-view-boji.jpg

The Michigan State Senate at Capitol View, as envisioned in a bid from The
Boji Group.

By Jonathan Oosting | joosting at mlive.com

Jonathan Oosting | joosting at mlive.com

 

LANSING, MI -- The Michigan Senate is moving forward with plans to

move out of the aging Farnum Building

and into a newer, larger building in downtown Lansing.

 

The pending move -- and associated price tag -- has been the subject of

increased scrutiny

in recent weeks, as lawmakers look to plug a looming budget shortfall by
cutting funding for various state departments.

 

Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive, said Tuesday that he is
personally in favor of the move but noted that the process was started by
former

Sen. Randy Richardville, who was term-limited out of office.

 

"It's already a signed contract. The bonds have already been let and we are
moving forward with the office change," Meekhof told reporters on Tuesday.

 

The Michigan Strategic Fund in November

authorized up to $70 million

in bonding to cover the $51 million purchase price of the Capitol View
Building, located at 201 Townsend Street, along with any other unanticipated
costs.

 

Meekhof, reversing a previous stance by the Senate Business Office, on
Tuesday disclosed detailed information about the bids that developers
submitted after

the Senate put out a request for proposal last year.

 

"In the interest of transparency, I'm going to release the bids so people
will be able to see it was a fair and open process," he said.

 

The 370-page document, released Tuesday evening, shows that the Senate
fielded four bids before settling on the Capitol View building, owned by Ron
Boji,

a Lansing businessman and political donor.

Block quote start

. PDF:

Office space bids for Michigan Senate

Block quote end

 

Staff ranked each bid on eight different criteria and determined that the
Boji Group offer was the best fit, although it wasn't the absolute cheapest
option.

 

H Inc. of Lansing proposed buying the Farnum for $1, renovating it and then
leasing the building back to the Senate at a cost of $14.50 per square foot.

 

The plan would have required a temporary move to another building several
blocks from the Capitol during renovation, and if the firm was required to
pay

the full market value for the building, lease costs would have jumped to
$19.95 per square foot.

 

Boji, meanwhile, offered to lease Capitol View to the state at a cost of
$16.75 per square foot, the lowest standalone bid, and then sell the
building to

the Senate for $1 when the lease expires in 30 years.

 

The Boji bid scored well on other rating criteria, including proximity to
the Capitol and existing design features, such as partaking and a separate,
secure

entrance for Senators and staff. Plans also call for construction of a new
two-story lobby connecting public hearing rooms.

 

The Michigan Senate originally intended to sell the Farnum Building after
moving out, but those plans remain on hold. Legislation that would have
allowed

the sale to move forward stalled in the state House late last year.

 

Gideon D'Assandro, a spokesperson for House Speaker Kevin Cotter, said the
lower chamber has no say in whether the Senate can move into new office
space.

 

Sen. Steve Bieda, who voted against the Farnum sale last year, said that at
the time he did not think the move made financial sense or was necessary,
despite

signs of age in the building. Recent circumstances have magnified those
concerns.

 

"We're asking state departments to make cuts, we've got a budget shortfall,
and at the same time we're also asking taxpayers to do a 1 cent increase in

the sales tax to fund the roads," Bieda, D-Warren, said Wednesday. "I think
the timing couldn't have been worse on something like this."

 

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group.

Email him,

find him on

Facebook

or follow him on

Twitter.

 

http://www.mlive.com/lansing-

Source:

news/index.ssf/2015/02/michigan_senate_moving_forward.html