The Trump administration announced the upcoming construction of a new 90,000 square-foot, $200 million ballroom on the White House property Thursday.
The White House State Ballroom will be a large event space to hold over three times as many guests than the East Room currently fits, according to a White House statement. It will have room for 650 seated guests.
President Donald Trump has sought to solve the problem of not being able to host major functions for world leaders without installing an outdoor tent 100 yards away from the main building entrance, said the White House.
“Presidents in the modern era have faced challenges hosting major events at the White House because it has been untouched since President Harry Truman,” said classical architect Jim McCrery in a statement. His company, McCrery Architects, will lead the project. “I am honored 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.”
“Just inspected the site of the new ballroom that will be built, compliments of a man known as Donald J. Trump, at the White House,” Trump posted on Truth Social in June. “For 150 years, presidents and many others have wanted a beautiful ballroom, but it never got built because nobody previously had any knowledge or experience in doing such things.”
“But I do,” the post continued, “like maybe nobody else, and it will go up quickly, and be a wonderful addition, very much in keeping with the magnificent White House itself.”
“President Trump is a builder at heart and has an extraordinary eye for detail,” White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said. “The president and the Trump White House are fully committed to working with the appropriate organizations to preserving the special history of the White House while building a beautiful ballroom that can be enjoyed by future administrations and generations of Americans to come.”
Clark Construction will lead the construction team for the project, while AECOM, a global infrastructure consulting firm, will lead the engineering team, according to the White House memo.
There is no specific end date for the project, but the White House says it expects the ballroom to be completed long before 2028, which would be the last year of Trump’s term in office.