U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is set to begin construction on a brand new ballroom at the White House, to be completed before his current term ends in 2029.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the $200-million addition will hold up to 650 seats, and will be 90,000 square feet in size — almost double the size of a football field, which is 57,600 square feet, including the end zones.
Leavitt confirmed on Thursday that the project will be funded by Trump and other “patriot donors.”
In a press release, the U.S. government announced that the ballroom will answer a long-standing call to provide an event space that can accommodate more guests than are currently permitted.
“President Donald J. Trump has expressed his commitment to solving this problem on behalf of future Administrations and the American people,” it says.
A mock-up of the White House’s new 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which is set to be completed before U.S. President Donald Trump’s current term ends in early 2029.
The White House
According to the Guardian, the new ballroom will be the first structural change to the historical building since the Truman Balcony was built in 1948.
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The White House currently cannot hold large-scale events and relies on temporary structures to do so, which the Trump administration called “unsightly.”
“The White House State Ballroom will be a much-needed and exquisite addition,” the press release continued, and will be more than three times the size of the East Room, which has a capacity of 200.
Trump told NBC News that the current setup means guests have to be ferried to a tent set up on the lawn, which he described as a “disaster” when it rains or snows, adding that tents are currently set up “a football field away from the White House.”
Renderings of the new White House Ballroom exterior.
The White House
“I’m doing a lot of improvements,” Trump said. “I’ll be building a beautiful ballroom. They wanted it for many, many years.”
“People are schlopping [sic] to the tent. It’s not a pretty sight. The women with their lovely evening gowns, all of their hair all done, and they’re a mess by the time they get in. They’ve always wanted to have it,” he told reporters.
Clark Construction will head the construction team, and AECOM will lead the engineering team.
The project is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed “long before the end of President Trump’s term,” Leavitt said.
Trump chose Washington, D.C.-based McCrery Architects to design the new space.
Its CEO, Jim McCrery, said, “Presidents in the modern era have faced challenges hosting major events at the White House because it has been untouched since President Harry Truman.”
“I am honoured that President Trump has entrusted me to help bring this beautiful and necessary renovation to The People’s House, while preserving the elegance of its classical design and historical importance,” he continued.
Meanwhile, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said the president is a “builder at heart,” with “an extraordinary eye for detail.”
The ballroom will be separated from the main structure of the White House but will be architecturally and thematically “identical” to the old building, Leavitt said, adding that it will be on the site of where the “heavily restructured” East Wing currently sits.
The East Wing was finished in 1942, while Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the White House, according to the White House Historical Association.
Trump, a famous real estate developer tycoon, told NBC News, “I was always a great real estate developer, and I know how to do that.”
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