photo by: Mike Yoder

The Robert B. Docking State Office building, 915 SW Harrison St., Topeka.

TOPEKA — Consultants have recommended the state spend more than $100 million to renovate the Docking State Office Building in Topeka, in part to consolidate state agencies in the building adjacent to the Kansas Capitol.

The Kansas Department of Administration report released Tuesday at a Kansas Senate committee rejected a proposal made during former Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration to demolish the building. Brownback officials moved about 1,000 state employees to four locations in Topeka.

The new report proposes either completely renovating the 12-story building, or reducing the building to three floors and adding three floors of new construction, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported. Both would retain the basement power plant and could allow laboratories on two floors for use by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

DeAngela Burns-Wallace, secretary of the agency, said the report gives the Legislature a starting point for discussing how the building can best be used for Kansas residents.

Officials said complete renovation could cost $114 million and take an estimated three years. Including a medical lab for the health department would push the cost to $154 million.

The $100 million alternative would allow for removal of upper floors of Docking and construction of three floors on top of three current floors. Placing the KDHE lab in Docking would increase the cost to $139 million.