The Trump administration announced Thursday that a 90,000-square-foot ballroom with a capacity for 650 people will be constructed in the White House’s East Wing. The approximately $200 million project will be funded by President Trump and other private donors, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said.
“The White House is one of the most beautiful and historic buildings in the world, yet the White House is currently unable to host major functions honoring world leaders and other countries without having to install a large and unsightly tent approximately 100 yards away from the main building’s entrance,” Leavitt said at Thursday’s press briefing. “The White House State Ballroom will be a much-needed and exquisite addition.”
Asked about it by reporters later in the day, Mr. Trump said, “We’ve been planning it for a long time.” He said the new ballroom “won’t interfere with the current building,” which he called his “favorite place.”
“It won’t be— it’ll be near it, but not touching it, and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of,” Mr. Trump said.
According to a release from the Trump administration, the ballroom will be approximately 90,000 square feet of “innately designed and carefully crafted space” with a capacity for 650 people sitting down, an increase from 200 people in the East Room of the White House.
It’s unclear who the donors are as well as how the architects were chosen. The White House said McCrery Architects will be the lead architect, Clark Construction will oversee the construction and the engineering team will be led by AECOM.
Construction is set to begin in September. The White House said Mr. Trump has held several meetings over the past few weeks with members of the White House staff, the National Park Service, the White House Military Office and the Secret Service to discuss design features and planning.
“The White House Ballroom will be substantially separated from the main building of the White House, but at the same time, it’s theme and architectural heritage will be almost identical,” the White House said in a release. “The site of the new ballroom will be where the small, heavily changed, and reconstructed East Wing currently sits. The East Wing was constructed in 1902 and has been renovated and changed many times, with a second story added in 1942.”
After the announcement, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer asked, “Where’d this money come from? Did Congress appropriate it? I don’t think so.”
In Mr. Trump’s first term, first lady Melania Trump oversaw a renovation of the Rose Garden, which was expanded this year with the addition of concrete slabs over the garden space.
