Secretary to propose Capitol Plaza revamp

The Shawnee County delegation has scheduled a Jan. 9 meeting with Department of Administration Secretary Jim Clark at which Clark will outline proposals to raze the Docking State Office Building and sell two other downtown edifices owned by the state.

The 10 representatives and three senators who represent the county have been notified of the meeting, which is scheduled for noon in Room 281N of the Statehouse.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said he has spoken to the secretary about the proposed demolition of Docking and, more recently, about the sale of the Dwight D. Eisenhower State Office Building and the Landon State Office Building.

Clark confirmed he will brief the delegation on those proposals in advance of a Joint Committee on State Building Construction meeting scheduled for Jan. 16.

"We're looking at our options as well," Clark said. "Hopefully we'll have some options we'll put before the committee on the 16th."

Hensley said Clark wants to sell the latter two buildings to private entities, then lease space for state offices there.

"The impression I got is that Clark wants to get the state out of the business of owning buildings," Hensley said.

Clark said the state holding the office buildings affects Topeka's real estate market, and the state owes it to the locals to form a plan and move forward.

"Having no answer or no plan hurts the market," Clark said.

Hensley said he urged the secretary to host a meeting with the delegation for the sake of transparency.

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Secretary to propose Capitol Plaza revamp