Even now, $621 million CVC isn’t finished

The $621 million Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) that opened last week to glowing tributes from congressional leaders remains unfinished.

While the parts of the center most frequented by tourists are open for business, construction on the parts of the CVC to be used by the House and Senate, which span three floors, are not complete, particularly on the House side.

{mosads}Dozens of rooms and hallways just off the CVC’s main hall have wires protruding from the walls, tiles missing from the ceiling and construction equipment strewn about. The sections to be used by the House and Senate cover about 170,000 square feet of the CVC, which opened four years late and more than $350 million over budget.

“We’re not answering questions on the House and Senate portions,” said Sharon Gang, communications manager for the CVC. She directed questions to the House Administration Committee and the Senate Rules and Administration Committee instead.

The House Administration Committee had not offered a comment by press time, but an aide to another committee involved with the CVC said construction would continue next year.

“Minor construction work will continue in [fiscal year] ’09,” said Jonathan Beeton, a spokesman for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chairwoman of the Legislative Branch subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee.

The Senate side is close to completion, according to Howard Gantman, staff director for the Senate Rules and Administration Committee.

On the House side, much of the construction is complete. The top two floors are fully carpeted, overhead dimmer lights in the rooms are fully functional, bathrooms are stocked with toilet paper and paper towels and motorized projector screens are ready for PowerPoint presentations.

But construction on a series of second-floor rooms located behind the new space, which are supposed to be for use by the House press gallery, was far from complete the day after the center opened on Dec. 2.
 
The long hall connecting the half-dozen rooms had sheets of plastic taped on top of the carpet. Ladders remained propped against the walls next to several 52-inch Sharp flat-screen televisions still in their boxes. More than 50 ceiling tiles were stacked beneath a naked ceiling of wires and pipes.

 At one end of the hall sat pieces of the metal air ventilation system in their plastic wrapping.  At the other end of the hall is room HVC 107, where the bottom half of a wall was missing, allowing for a clear line of sight into room HVC 106. The other three walls of the room had insulation and wiring exposed.

The CVC has been criticized repeatedly as a boondoggle. The center’s original $265 million price tag ballooned to $621 million. The center was supposed to open in 2005, but instead was not ready for business for another four years.
Still, Democratic and Republican leaders celebrated the opening at a Dec. 2 ceremony, where each speaker seemed to try to outdo the next in lavishing praise on the CVC. No one mentioned that parts of the CVC remained unfinished.

The Architect of the Capitol (AoC), which oversees the CVC project, gave the center its seal of approval by granting the building its permanent certificate of occupancy in October, despite the unfinished work.
“Receipt of the certificate of occupancy signals that the facility is safe for all those who work there and for the millions of people we expect to come through its doors beginning Dec. 2,” said acting Architect Stephen Ayers in a statement.

However, a representative of one of the area’s largest construction firms said that, typically, such a certificate is not granted if users will have access to exposed walls, as in Room HVC-107 at the CVC.

Bob McNey, chief estimator for Clark Construction Co., said that a building inspector may have granted it a valid exception for the particular room so that they could continue work throughout the floor.

When told about the conditions, McNey, who has not seen the CVC, said that even though the rooms may look far from complete, it is possible construction could be finished in a matter of weeks.

While construction clearly is still continuing, some committees have started to lay their claim to areas on the House side, according to a U.S. Capitol Police officer who works in the CVC.

But the area is still unfinished. Committee rooms are locked, and ladders, spools of wire, boxes of chairs and unused pieces of Sheetrock are propped up against the walls in the first-floor hallway leading to the future home of the House Intelligence Committee, Homeland Security Committee and the House sergeant at arms.

In contrast to the House side, the press galleries for the Senate are nearly complete and already in use. Flickering monitors and recording equipment are actively manned in every other room, and a full kitchen with two refrigerators, microwaves, a sink, a television and six tables are included in the space.

A new basement space of the CVC meant to be used by the Capitol Police and other groups also looks incomplete. Capitol Police have already made the move to their new basement CVC station, which comes complete with a break room and lockers. An office of the House superintendent has moved in as well.

However, a parked scissor lift, used for moving heavy objects, sits in the hallway to the station, indicating construction is ongoing. Ceiling tiles are missing and pipes protrude from walls. Emergency call buttons have yet to be installed.