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Idaho Begins Renovating New State Office Space Ahead Of Move

HP Entrance Hewlett Packard Logo
Samantha Wright
/
Boise State Public Radio

The state has begun renovating the first building of the former HP Inc. campus in Boise as Idaho agencies prepare to start moving into the new office space later this year.

Workers have started removing tile and carpet embedded with asbestos from parts of the building that have been vacant for years, KTVB-TV reported .

The building's asbestos issue was anticipated, and its removal is not expected to delay the schedule for agencies to move in, said Keith Reynolds, the deputy director of the state Department of Administration.

"We of course suspected because of the age of the building there would be asbestos," Reynolds said. "HP provided reports during our due diligence phase that confirmed that."

The state purchased the 1.5 million-square-foot (140,000-square-meter) property for $110 million last year. The eight-building campus covers about 200 acres (80 hectares) in northwest Boise.

An additional $29 million was budgeted for renovations and infrastructure work.

The removal of the asbestos is expected take about two months, Reynolds said. It's expected to cost about $1 million.

"We did due diligence throughout the period after the purchase was authorized by the Legislature," Reynolds said. "We knew up front that we had to do renovations. It was factored in to what the costs were of the site, and it is the best value for the taxpayers."

The Idaho State Tax Commission plans to move into the campus in the fall, and the state Industrial Commission is expected to follow soon after. Other agencies are expected to move later.

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