President Trump plans to renovate the White House with a 90,000-square-foot ballroom, a move that will replace part of the historic East Wing and will significantly add to the size of the executive mansion for the first time in decades.
The project will begin in September and is expected to be finished “long before” Mr. Trump’s term ends, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
President Trump and other donors will foot the $200 million cost of the project, she said.
Mr. Trump, who built his fortune in real estate development, has signaled for months that the ballroom project would soon be underway at the White House.
He has complained that the current White House lacks a ballroom and does not have the space to host large events. Instead, white tents are pitched next to the White House for big gatherings.
Mr. Trump bragged about his plans for a new ballroom on Sunday to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen while showing off a brand new opulent room at his golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, where the two met for trade talks.
“We just built this ballroom, and we’re building a great ballroom at the White House,” Mr. Trump told her. “No president knew how to build a ballroom.”
Ms. Leavitt said the massive ballroom will be constructed where the East Wing, built in 1902, “currently sits.” When asked if the East Wing will be torn down, Ms. Leavitt said it will be renovated and modernized during the construction of the ballroom.
The new ballroom will provide ample space for grand events that the White House now lacks. The East Room seats about 200 people. The new ballroom, when completed, will have a seated capacity of 650 people.
Ms. Leavitt described the future ballroom as “substantially separated from the main building of the White House, but at the same time, its theme and architectural heritage will be almost identical.”
It will be the latest change introduced to what’s known as the “people’s house” since Mr. Trump returned to office in January. It will also be the first structural change to the Executive Mansion since the addition of the Truman balcony several decades ago.
Trump has substantially redecorated the Oval Office by adding golden flourishes, cherubs and other items and installed massive flagpoles to fly the American flag on the north and south lawns. Workers are currently finishing a project to replace the lawn in the Rose Garden with stone.
“President Trump is a builder at heart and has an extraordinary eye for detail,” White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in a statement. She said the president and his White House are “fully committed” to working with the appropriate organizations to preserve 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.”
• This article includes wire service reports.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.