Official: $300M Christie Plan To Renovate NJ State House Underway
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Gov. Chris Christie's plan for four-year $300 million renovation of New Jersey's statehouse has gotten underway.
Treasurer Ford Scudder announced Friday that the governor's office and state department employees who work in the statehouse will be moving to a state building down the street in the capital.
Christie announced the major renovations to the deteriorating 18th-century building in November. Already workers have begun boarding up windows with sheets of plywood around the building.
Parts of the building date to the 18th century, and Christie said the current condition of the State House is shameful. It hasn't had a major upgrade since 1958, and Christie said the part of the building used by the executive branch doesn't have fire sprinklers and there are a number of code violations.
Christie says the building is a "fire trap" that has not been significantly updated in six decades.
Among the problems with the building include: part of it is in danger of sinking into the ground and crushing computer servers. Paint is cracking off exterior walls, and flammable materials have been found in the attic.
The New Jersey State House is the second oldest in continuous operation in the U.S.
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