In the shadow of one of Georgia’s most recognizable architectural landmarks, a rare new downtown office building erected from the ground up has reached its max height. 

Just north of the Georgia State Capitol, across Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, the eight-story legislative office building is replacing two partially vacant, state-owned structures at a prominent downtown corner. Demolition of the former buildings started in late summer 2024. 

The 260,000-square-foot office project will include a new parking garage with 500 spaces, all linked via a skybridge to the third floor of the Gold Dome. 

The Georgia Building Authority had explored the possibility of creating a tunnel or enhanced pedestrian crosswalk to link the two buildings but determined a bridge was a safer, more secure, and more efficient option. 

The eight-story project's proximity to the Gold Dome. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Planned look of the expansion's bridge component over Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Georgia State Capitol building

The new office building will replace a dated, 1980s office stack on the south side of the Capitol that houses most legislative offices and committee rooms today but needs upgrades, such as new mechanical and heating systems, and lacks sufficient meeting rooms, as lawmakers said last year. 

The new construction joins major demolition work and Gold Dome upgrades that officials say are long overdue downtown. State lawmakers have said they’re bursting at the seams of Georgia’s historic 1889 Capitol and the adjacent office building, necessitating the changes. 

As part of the updates, a fresh, thin layer of actual 24-karat gold was applied to the Capitol dome last year. 

Another aspect of the work will see the restoration of a grand Capitol library that’s been obscured and sectioned into offices under the Gold Dome. Other offices built into the building’s original mezzanines will be purged, opening those formerly grand spaces back up, too. 

Under-construction facade along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Site plans illustrating bridge connectivity between the two buildings. Georgia State Capitol building

The cost of the Georgia Capitol redo and new legislative building will be $392 million, as paid for with the $36 billion in state revenue lawmakers approved for fiscal year 2024. 

The budget will also cover safety and security upgrades at the Capitol Hill complex, in addition to $83 million channeled toward preserving the historical integrity of the Gold Dome.

An earlier, $208 million proposal to renovate the Coverdell Legislative Office Building on the south side of the Capitol as an overcrowding solution would have created less space—leaving fewer dollars for Gold Dome upgrades—and required that lawmakers work from portable trailers for two years, officials have said.

Project leaders have said new construction around the Capitol, as it’s proceeding now, should be finished by the end of 2026.

The topped-out office expansion project along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in relation to the Georgia Capitol Building, as seen on Saturday. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

In other demolition/development news from the area, Georgia state government in summer 2024 demolished the original World of Coca-Cola (vacant since 2007) to make way for a new surface parking lot next to another state-owned building, the Georgia Railroad Freight Depot events space. That’s meant to replace some parking being lost to staging areas for construction crews during the Gold Dome expansion. 

Find more context and images in the gallery above. 

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