The White House will soon begin construction of a new $200m ballroom to be ready before Donald Trump’s term ends in early 2029.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the building will be 90,000 sq ft and will hold up to 650 seats.
It will be the latest change introduced to what’s known as “the People’s House” since the Republican president returned to office in January. It also will be the first structural change to the executive mansion itself since the addition of the Truman Balcony in 1948.
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The White House is currently unable to hold large-scale events, given the 200-person capacity in the White House’s East Room. In a phone interview with NBC News, Trump pointed to the White House’s set-up for large-scale events, which necessitates ferrying guests to tents set up on the South Lawn.
“When it rains or snows, it’s a disaster,” Trump said, noting that tents are currently set up “a football field away from the White House”.
From Trump’s view, a new ballroom has long been in demand.
“I’m doing a lot of improvements,” Trump said to NBC. “I’ll be building a beautiful ballroom. They wanted it for many, many years.”
Levitt said funding for the addition will come from Trump, as well as other “patriot donors”, according to the White House website, leading Trump to label the project as “his gift to the country”.
McCrery Architects has been chosen to complete the design, with Clark Construction as the construction lead, and AECOM handling engineering. The ballroom will be separate from the White House’s main building, and will take the place of the current East Wing.
The project fits nicely in the wheelhouse of America’s real-estate magnate president, who has taken the presidential tradition of redecoration a step further. While Trump’s past changes, such as paving portions of the Rose Garden and layering gold filigree throughout the White House, are easily reversible, a new ballroom building would last long after Trump leaves office.
