Tallahassee's downtown Turlington Building getting a bath

Spring cleaning came early for the Ralph D. Turlington Florida Education Center in Tallahassee: Its long-awaited exterior sprucing-up has begun.

For the last few years, swaths of the top of the building have been marred by black streaks. This week, workers could be seen gingerly walking on its angled roof and rappelling down its sides.

The three-decade-old edifice, commonly known as the Turlington Building, is the home of the Florida Department of Education. It's named after former state Education Commissioner Ralph Turlington, who also was a Florida House Speaker. He died in May at the age of 100.

The building's renovations are being overseen by the Department of Management Services, the state's real estate manager.

Agency spokeswoman Rose Hebert said the finish on the building's panels deteriorated and needed to be cleaned and recoated. The whole project, budgeted for $3.6 million, is scheduled for completion by December 2022, she added.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Department of Education Turlington Building getting a bath