by Sarah Meisch

After years of planning and extensive renovations, the time has finally arrived: The Office of Legislative Services (OLLS) has moved out of the Capitol and into the State Capitol Annex Building! On September 19, the OLLS moved out of its office space in the Capitol, and during the week of October 20, the agency moved across the street into the Annex Building, located at 1375 Sherman Street. The OLLS is joining the Colorado State Patrol, the Offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, the Office of the State Auditor (OSA), and some Legislative Council Staff (LCS) in the new building.

Design and history

The Annex Building has been renovated and refurbished to allow for the relocation of legislative and executive branch staff. Ratio Architects and Slate worked together to design and furnish the office spaces for the OLLS, LCS, and OSA. Both firms worked to balance the need to preserve the building’s historic elements while also bringing the building amenities up to modern standards and sensibilities.

The Annex Building was built between 1939-1941 as part of the Works Progress Administration and the Public Works Administration, two New Deal programs that alleviated the economic strain of the Great Depression. The building’s Art Deco design was created by local artists and epitomized the more pragmatic energy the Art Deco movement embodied during the Great Depression. Throughout the Annex Building, we still see the austerity and beauty of a period both teeming with vision and bridled by difficult economic realities.

The designers with Ratio and NINE dot ARTS have reflected the artistic influences of that world within the Annex and blended them with the present moment. Several pieces of the building’s artwork, including historic photos, show what Denver has become and the ways in which the times and fashions have changed throughout the years. 

Building layout

There are eight levels in the Annex building, and the agencies have been assigned certain floors and spaces for their office spaces. The legislative branch is assigned the third through seventh floors of the building. With the exception of the seventh floor, which will be common space for the General Assembly, these floors are dedicated to legislative staff agencies. 

The new home of the OLLS is on the third floor and the north half of the fourth floor. The OLLS reception area, where visitors will come for assistance from our staff, is located on the third floor, in the hall to the southwest of the elevators. The other half of the fourth floor and the and the entire fifth floor are occupied by the OSA, which has moved from the State Services Building on the north side of the Capitol to join other legislative staff in the Annex. 

The sixth floor is now home to the committee, research, fiscal notes, and economics staff of the LCS. Those staff relocated from the Capitol and Legislative Services Building (LSB) in late October. The LCS employees that remain in the Capitol Building include the employees within the Resource Center, Legislative Constituent Services, and IT Technical Staff, who continue to occupy Room 048 at the base of the central staircase, and LCS Director Natalie Castle, the Accounting staff, and Visitor Services staff, who remain in Room 011 on the basement level of the Capitol. Additionally, the Legislative Information Services and the print shop will remain housed in the LSB just south of the Capitol.

The remaining floors of the building are allocated to the executive branch or for common use by building occupants. The basement level houses the Colorado State Patrol, and the first floor includes a cafeteria for building use and shared meeting rooms for the agencies. A security checkpoint will be present on the first floor of the building to monitor and assist all incoming guests and staff. A portion of the first floor and the entire second floor will be home to the Offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, including Accounting, Operations, Serve Colorado, and the Cabinet Room.

As part of this larger move of legislative staff, the Legislative Human Resources Division moved to the basement of the LSB. The division’s new office space is located in Room 022, just beyond basement security.

The OLLS is excited to see you in our new space in the Annex Building! If you have any questions for our office and want to get ahold of our staff, stop by our new offices in the Annex or, as always, you can contact us at (303) 866-2045 or olls.ga@coleg.gov.

References

“Colorado State Capitol Annex & Boiler Plant | History Colorado.” History Colorado. Accessed October 9, 2025. http://www.historycolorado.org/location/colorado-state-capitol-annex-boiler-plant.