Capitol expansion may cost $11 million less

BOISE – Officials overseeing the Idaho Capitol expansion and renovation say it will likely cost $11 million less, now that Gov. Butch Otter and lawmakers have agreed to trim underground wings to half their originally proposed size.

Building 50,000-square-foot, one-story wings will cost the state $29 million, down from the $40 million estimated to construct two-story wings twice that big, the Idaho Statesman reported Wednesday after an Idaho Capitol Commission meeting.

Per square foot, the cost rises to $580, from about $400.

Lawmakers during the 2006 Legislature approved the project to expand the 100-year-old Capitol building to alleviate cramped quarters and add hearing rooms. Including renovation work on the existing Capitol, the total is estimated at $120 million.