New images released Friday offer the clearest look yet at President Donald Trump’s proposed White House ballroom addition, a sweeping project that would mark the most significant change to the White House grounds in decades – even as it faces legal challenges and increasing criticism on Capitol Hill.
The updated renderings were shared with the National Capital Planning Commission, which oversees major federal construction projects in the region, according to The Washington Post. The plans depict a roughly 90,000-square-foot structure, described by the White House as an “East Wing modernization,” that would house a ballroom and offices for staff.
The images show a notable design revision: the removal of a large triangular pediment above the southern portico after concerns were raised by federal design reviewers, the Post reported Friday.
“Despite the revisions, the proposed addition would remain the same height as the White House at its highest point — a priority for Trump and a major concern for outside architects and historical preservationists,” according to the Post. “Critics have warned the project could overshadow the iconic main mansion and alter long-protected sightlines around the complex.”
One Biden-appointed architect, Bruce Redman Becker, who Trump removed last year from the Commission of Fine Arts, blasted the design as “a poorly proportioned pseudo-neoclassical structure that is completely out of scale with the White House.” He added that the images shown in the renderings failed to comply with long-standing National Park Service guidelines.
Despite the concerns, preparation work has already been underway for months, including the controversial teardown of the East Wing last fall. Above-ground construction could begin as soon as April, the Post said Friday.
Trump’s beloved project also faces another hurdle: a legal challenge as a federal judge is continuing to weigh whether the president can rely on private donations to bypass congressional approval.
But Trump remains dead set on seeing the project through, writing on Truth Social this week that it is “on budget and ahead of schedule.”
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