 "Demolishing East Wing for new ballroom more cost-effective than renovation, says White House")
White House officials have said that it made more economic sense to demolish the East Wing and make way for President Donald Trump’s dream project of a ballroom than to renovate it.
The director of the White House Office of Administration, Josh Fisher, justified the bulldozing of the historic East Wing, saying that it had “significant deficiencies and overall poor structural design and construction.”
White House officials informed members of the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) that the wing was marred by issues such as “chronic water intrusion, accelerated deterioration and mould contamination.”
“Because of this and other factors, the cost analysis proved that demolition and reconstruction provided the lowest total cost ownership and most effective long-term strategy,” Fisher said.
When asked by the chairman of the District of Columbia council, Democrat Phil Mendelson, the head of the commission, why the entire plan of the ballroom had not been presented yet, Fisher said that its construction was of a “top secret nature.”
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Trump went shopping for marble, which will be used in the new White House ballroom.
The president made a stop at Arc Stone & Tile, a stone importer near Mar-a-Lago, before heading to the Trump International Golf Club. A White House official told CNN that Trump planned to buy marble and onyx from the Italian marble specialist.
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View AllThe purchase, the official said, would be paid for personally by Trump and marks the latest indication of the president’s deep involvement in a project that would significantly reshape the White House grounds and leave a lasting personal mark on the nation’s most iconic address.
How much is the project costing?
Trump had earlier said that the ‘big, beautiful ballroom’ project would cost $200 million, adding that the construction would not affect the existing White House structure. But now, the president says that the project will cost $400 million.
“We’re donating a $400 million ballroom. I think I’ll do it for less, but it’s 400. I should do it for less, I will do it for less. But just in case, I say 400,” Trump said last month.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit in December, saying that the White House did not seek the necessary reviews before demolishing the East Wing in October.
About the project
The construction of the ‘big, beautiful ballroom’ is the first major addition to the White House in more than a century.
Traditionally, US first ladies have maintained their offices in the East Wing, while the president conducts business from the West Wing. The couple resides together in the Executive Mansion.
While Trump claims that the East Wing is “completely separate from the White House itself,” it is linked to the main mansion by a covered colonnade.
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