The elevators go up and down all 15 levels in a jiffy. There’s light and windows everywhere. The committee rooms can seat hundreds. The upsized cafeteria has ample seating and a pizza oven. And there’s new technology throughout designed to help the people of Virginia see and influence what their elected representatives are doing in Richmond.

A week before the official ribbon was cut on the new Virginia General Assembly Building on Oct. 11, state officials who had overseen the nearly $300 million project for the last six years were proudly preparing to reveal the almost-finished product.

“I feel like saying ‘Hallelujah!’” Senate Clerk Susan Clarke Schaar said earlier this month as she took questions from reporters getting their first look at the new legislative office building that’s been under construction on Capitol Square.

The new building, which replaces an asbestos-laden predecessor that was built in 1976 and demolished a few years ago, will house the offices of members of the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates, as well as spacious new committee rooms where much of the nitty-gritty work of writing laws takes place.

A tunnel connecting the new building to the historic State Capitol is still under construction but is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The tunnel will be open to everyone, which means the visiting public will be able to move freely between the two buildings without having to go through multiple security screenings.

The new building incorporates several design elements meant to evoke the Capitol interior, including its ornate staircase on the lower levels and dogwood-themed carpeting in a Senate committee room similar to a pattern in the old Senate chamber.

“The Capitol is the jewel. This is a beautiful bauble,” said House Clerk G. Paul Nardo. “We’re trying to make them more seamless.”

During the construction process, the legislature temporarily moved into the labyrinthine and stuffy Pocahontas Building, where visitors often got lost and meeting rooms were regularly filled to capacity. The Pocahontas Building is scheduled to be torn down after the General Assembly officially moves to its new offices for the 2024 legislative session.

It won’t be missed by the clerks, who manage the General Assembly’s day-to-day logistics and said the new building has been designed with public accessibility in mind from top to bottom. Visiting tour groups will now have more space to gather and eat lunch, and most committee and subcommittee meetings will happen on the first few floors.