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Capitol to add visitors center Saturday, Apr 28, 2007 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Construction is scheduled to begin Sunday on a $450,000 visitors center at the state Capitol, the secretary of state's office said Friday. Over the next several months, the Capitol's first-floor rotunda area will be remodeled into a state-of-the-art visitor services center providing tourist information, free Internet access and cable television news, said Natasha Naragon, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Charlie Daniels. Operating funds in Daniels' budget will fund the project, which is expected to be completed around August. The secretary of state's office has been setting aside money for the project for the past four years, Naragon said. In the northwest corner of the area, the current tourist station will be updated with an interactive computer touchscreen and videos providing information about Arkansas and the state Capitol. In the northeast corner, space will be provided for visitors to work on laptop computers using a new Wi-Fi connection. Visitors will have to bring their own computers, but the wi-fi connection will be free. "That little business area is also going to have a television with closed-captioning so that they can catch up on news. We'll have it on a news station," Naragon said. Plans call for the existing U.S. Post Office, Capitol Police desk and gift shop to be renovated as well. "Everything will have a whole new look - more streamlined, more spacious, lighter, but consistent with the historical integrity of the building," Naragon said. Construction will take place during off-business hours. No services will be interrupted, according to Naragon. "As the different stations are being worked on, the services will just be moved to a nearby area in the rotunda," she said. "The Capitol building is near and dear to my heart, and this project has been a dream of mine for years," Daniels said in a news release. "This center will make a stunning first impression on visitors to our state Capitol, as well as provide many valuable services for business people and tourists alike." The project was opened for bids in May 2006. A contract was awarded to the lowest bidder, Baldwin & Shell Construction of Little Rock, Naragon said. Maintaining the Capitol building and grounds is one of the constitutional duties of Arkansas' secretary of state. Among the other construction projects Daniels has overseen since taking office in 2003 are a $769,735 refurbishing of the Capitol steps and front promenade, and a $1.2 million restoration of the Capitol dome. |
