The owner of the Department of Labor & Workforce Development building in Juneau known as the “Plywood Palace” is planning major repairs as part of its winning offer for a new multi-year state lease.
And the state will pick up a big chuck of those costs as part of the lease.
Under recently announced lease agreements, which are expected to be finalized next week, 78 Labor Department employees will move to new quarters in the former Gottschalk’s space in the Mendenhall Mall.
The remaining 260 employees will remain in the Plywood Palace, which will undergo renovations over the next several months. That will include replacing and upgraded heating, ventilation and air conditioning or HVAC systems, said Patrick Holmes, representative of property owner Juneau I, LLC.
“We’re installing new digital controls, and replacing duct work,” he said. “There’ll be all new lighting, paint, carpets, all new restrooms, lobby, landscaping, redoing the parking lot, pretty much all through the building,” Holmes said.
The state also wants employees to have more light, Holmes said.
“They have a natural light requirement, and we are installing more windows to meet that,” he said.
The owners take very seriously health concerns voiced by some employees in the building, but have been unable to determine what might be causing problems, he said.
Both company and state experts have done air quality monitoring, but have not found indications of mold in the air, Holmes said.
“In every case the outside mold levels are considerably higher than inside levels, but certainly we do take employee concerns very seriously,” he said.
The new lease agreement to which they’ve agreed includes testing by an industrial hygiene expert to make sure the building complies with standards, he said.
“The state is certainly protected,” Holmes said.
State Chief Procurement Officer Vern Jones said mold found previously has been dealt with, but the new renovations are more extensive.
“What they’ll be doing is taking out parts of the sheetrock, if there’s mold they’ll be abating it,” he said. “They told us they were going to do that to the entire building.”
The state is expected to sign a five-year lease, with two optional five-year renewals. The lease amount will be $2.13 a square foot base rate per month, with an additional cost to the state of $1.36 per square foot for tenant improvements during the first five-year period.
That amounts to nearly $4 million extra to Juneau I for improvements over the term of initial lease term. The total cost for the first five-year term will be about $10 million, according to data provided by Jones.
Tenants paying for improvements are standard parts of lease agreements, Jones and Holmes said, and the Mendenhall Mall will be getting similar payments for converting the old department store into offices.
Jones said the state likely could have received a lower per-square-foot price with a longer lease term, but wanted to keep its options open in case it wants to build its own building.
That’s been the hope of the Juneau legislative delegation, but the state got as far as narrowing down options to a downtown and a Mendenhall Valley site before reversing course and choosing to continue to rent.
The state doesn’t yet know what it will need or want in Juneau in the future, said Becky Hultberg, commissioner of the Department of Administration. Her department provides office space for multiple state agencies.
An analysis of space needs is now underway, but won’t be fully complete until after the Library, Archives and Museum Building is completed. That project will make some additional space available, and a longer-term decision will be made then, she said.
“That could include a new building, but it might not,” Hultberg said.
• Contact reporter Pat Forgey at 523-2250 or at patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.
Comments (14)
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Answer: Stuff it full of money.
State Employees are Condemed to Plywood Place
“They have a natural light requirement, and we are installing more windows to meet that,” he said.
The owners take very seriously health concerns voiced by some employees in the building, but have been unable to determine what might be causing problems, he said.
Both company and state experts have done air quality monitoring, but have not found indications of mold in the air, Holmes said.
“In every case the outside mold levels are considerably higher than inside levels, but certainly we do take employee concerns very seriously,” he said.
The new lease agreement to which they’ve agreed includes testing by an industrial hygiene expert to make sure the building complies with standards, he said."
Wow they did it again out bid at low cost once again and the state of Alaska is a sucker for low bids!
I find it hard to believe the owner found no mold in the air..well think about this not hard mind you!
If any water damage to any house or building like it did in New Orleans we witness the mold growing and spreading throughout damage structure.
What does the owner think that the mold spores would be any different to its building?
The state employees who are condemned in that building have to eat, work, breathe in that building.
Yep, the owners bid at low and State employees have to pay for it.
Why not just tear down the building entirely and start from scratch? That way the state and owners would be very happy.
Yeah
Yeah!! Lipstick!!
As long as
the owner refuses to let the inspector open up the walls and do testing, they will be able to continue to say there is no problem. Air testing is not as reliable as surface testing and several surface tests taken in that building showed black mold indicating a bigger problem. And there is still a question as to why the problem is bad enough to allow 78 employees to move out while leaving 260 people in the building. It would seem to me there is a huge case for a class action and I hope they do it. Enough is enough, its time for the union to step up and protect those employees. Also,what do they plan to do with the space thats left from those 78 employees moving out?
They have already replaced carpet, and painted, its the wall cavities where the problem lies. A prior article indicated the inspector said there were breaches in the vapor barrier. "The lack of a continuous vapor retarder and missing cavity insulation could lead to condensation and potential organic growth within the wall cavity,” the Wiss Janney report states." All the surface and cosmetic work in the world isnt going to fix the problem within the wall cavity. If they do add windows, hopefully there will be someone standing by with a camera because I will bet the inside isnt going to be pretty but more than likely the owner will be able to keep the area blocked from anyone, including an inspector, from seeing. Its the one area that has yet to be tested because the owners refuses. If they have nothing to hide, why keep inspectors from being able to test the wall cavities?
Not to mention, it must be nice for the landlord to have the State help pay for his reno's, the reno's the building owner should have done a long time ago as part of prior leases with the State.
After all the expenses
For this remodel and the improvements that they need to make over at the Douglas building that houses Fish and Game and Corrections, they should just cut their losses now and BUILD A NEW STATE BUILDING! How hard is this to see? There is a big lot across from Safeway that is perfect. Someone needs to have their head removed from their hiney!
mold
It would be interesting to know just how dangerous dry mold spores are to human health when they are hidden within an exterior wall cavity separated from the indoor air by a vapor retarder. By definition, a vapor retarder is not impermeable, hence the word "retarder". Breaches exist at every nail, screw, and electrical outlet. I've seen home improvement shows where abatement crews wear full body suits and respirators just to remove a 2 in patch of mold inside a wall. It would be interesting to know 1) how many of the people complaining of health problems in the building are smokers?, and 2) what is the mold situation in their own homes? I have inspected many Juneau homes and found few that have no mold in the attic or crawl space. Mold is also very prevalent in the Juneau outdoor environment. It seems that this is why so many people with mold related health issues choose to leave town. Anyone who is so sensitive to mold that they need to wear a breathing mask in this building should probably not be living in the rain forest. Let the industrial hygienist do their inspection and see what they have to say.
mold
It would be interesting to know just how dangerous dry mold spores are to human health when they are hidden within an exterior wall cavity separated from the indoor air by a vapor retarder. By definition, a vapor retarder is not impermeable, hence the word "retarder". Breaches exist at every nail, screw, and electrical outlet. I've seen home improvement shows where abatement crews wear full body suits and respirators just to remove a 2 in patch of mold inside a wall. It would be interesting to know 1) how many of the people complaining of health problems in the building are smokers?, and 2) what is the mold situation in their own homes? I have inspected many Juneau homes and found few that have no mold in the attic or crawl space. Mold is also very prevalent in the Juneau outdoor environment. It seems that this is why so many people with mold related health issues choose to leave town. Anyone who is so sensitive to mold that they need to wear a breathing mask in this building should probably not be living in the rain forest. Let the industrial hygienist do their inspection and see what they have to say.
Kiki
This part of the article says > “What they’ll be doing is taking out parts of the sheetrock, if there’s mold they’ll be abating it,” he said. “They told us they were going to do that to the entire building.”
That implies they will be opening up the walls. I sure as hell hope this answers many questions and gets to the bottom of this problem.
Another commentor asked how many of the people complaining of health issues are smokers? A very tiny percentage of the people that work in this building smoke, but that is not the point. Everyone that walks into this building whether it is an employee, a vender, the public is exposed and affected.
I am very disappointed that the State took the "lowest" bid knowing the history and track record from the building owners and their mindset of "lets be reactive, not proactive". Further shocking is that the State agreed to pay for a portion of the rehab? WTF?
The sooner ALL the DOL employees can get out of that building the better.
I'm still sick
I worked next to the south wall that was full of black mold for 2 years, and ever since I've been fighting sinus problems I never had before.
I have had at least 5 rounds of antibiotics, and one cycle of antifungal drugs along with antibiotics (a real gut bomb) to knock out a fungus infection in my sinuses.
Ever since working there I have been hypersensitized to pollen, perfumes, and molds, which I never was before working there.
This building is a severe health hazard, and it should be torn down and the lumber burned. Instead, the Parnell administration defied legislative mandates to build a new building and is in bed with the landlords and legislators who go along with this office slumlord.
I wonder how much Anchorage legislators and Governor Zero received in "campaign contributions" from those limited partners?
Huh?
The State took the "low bid" but then is paying for the remodel, thereby negating the "low bid," in my opinion.
New carpet? It sure isn't in the halls or entry way. That's the most repulsive carpet I have ever seen.
my two cents
Although I am not defending the landlord, I do feel compelled to express my personal relief as a Labor employee that some of us are remaining at the Plywood Palace. As a downtown resident who does not drive, relocating my job to the valley would have created a huge personal inconvenience. Granted the building needs work, but fortunately not every office has been exposed to the ongoing mold problems. Some other Labor employees may disagree, but for myself, the proximity of the Labor building to A&P, the post office and other errand destinations is a huge convenience. I can empathize with employees experiencing mold-related health problems (I live in an 80-year old house), but to characterize ALL Labor employees as being "forced" to remain at the Palace is misleading. I for one am glad to stay.
@countthis
Thanks for that, I missed that in the article. I hope the union is going to have their own "expert" working side by side the person the State is bringing in. "State Chief Procurement Officer Vern Jones said mold found previously has been dealt with".....the way they dealt with it in some cases was to sand down the drywall, then repaint. Thats not dealing with it.
That aside, I may be wrong but wasnt that building in the way of the seawalk that the City had planned at some point? If so, then why is the State paying for improvements on a building that may get torn down? I can see why the building owner would be happy though.
Plywood Palace
This is ALL a crock o' Sh- -! The building is old, and a health hazard. It wasnt meant to be permanent housing for state workers....That was 30 years ago! Get with it, treat your Alaskan state workers with the respect they deserve why should they have to compromise their health just to earn a living? Build a NEW State Office building for F&G, H&SS and DOL!!! I cannot believe the state settled for this BS, AND are helping multi millionaires with their responsibility to pay for the renovations!!! There is money to cover a new State Office building and a lot out by Safeway to do it! C'mon!!
GET WITH IT!
Plywood Palace Owners
Didn't I read in the Juneau Empire the listing of people behind on their property taxes just a few weeks ago, and Bauer owes ALOT of $$$ taxes?