Minnesota’s $730 Million Palace for Part-Time Politicians

December 6, 2023 Last Edit: June 5, 2025

Another (Mostly) New Office Building for Politicians in St. Paul.

Minnesota’s $730 Million Palace for Part-Time Politicians

Ten years ago, during another period when Democrats controlled the Minnesota Legislature and Governor’s Office, Senate DFLers tucked an obscure funding clause for a capital improvement project into the 2013 Omnibus Tax Bill. Known as “certificates of participation,” this financing mechanism enabled Senate DFL leadership to realize a long-held dream: a brand-new office building for the state senate near the Minnesota Capitol. What’s now known as the Minnesota Senate Building (MSB) was constructed from 2014 to 2016 at a price of a little over $100 million. But the political cost was far greater for DFLers, as the ostentatious design and price tag helped cost them control of the Minnesota House in 2014. The state Senate flipped two years later, with the MSB still looming in voters’ minds. Ten years later, another (mostly) new office building for part-time politicians is breaking ground. Last December, with little notice or public input, House DFLers authorized $500 million for a renovation and expansion of the State Office Building. The cost has since ballooned to nearly $730 million, including interest payments. Affectionately known as the SOB, the State Office Building first opened in 1932 at a cost of $1.5 million (~$32 million in 2023) and originally housed state agencies, boards and commissions. High ranking lawmakers had offices in the State Capitol; others worked from their desks on the chamber floor or the hallways. Over time, agencies gained their own buildings throughout St. Paul and politicians moved in during the 1970s.

Topics:

Taxes

State:

Minnesota

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