A federal commission stacked with President Donald Trump’s deputies will face a barrage of public opposition Thursday as it considers his plans for a $400 million White House ballroom.
In a one-sided outpouring of sentiment, tens of thousands of people and myriad organizations have already urged the National Capital Planning Commission to reject or refine Trump’s oversized ballroom plans.
More than 100 speakers are scheduled to voice their arguments at the commission’s Thursday afternoon hearing. Although a vote had been expected, commission Chair William Scharf said the large number of public speakers means the hearing will likely continue into Thursday night. The vote will also be pushed back, he said.
“We’re going to take the time to deliberate and we’re going to have a final vote on April 2, at our next scheduled meeting,” Scharf said.
In their written comments, prominent critics said the proposal for the 89,000-square-foot addition to replace the demolished East Wing violates usual architectural practices when dealing with a building as important as the White House. Instead of adding to the White House, the ballroom will overshadow it, they argued.
“The proposed design strays far from the most fundamental principle of historic preservation, which dictates that new additions to historic buildings should be deferential and should allow the primary structure’s significance to remain intact,” Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League, wrote in comments that she’s scheduled to reiterate Thursday.
Architect Priya Jain, chair of the Heritage Conservation Committee of the Society of Architectural Historians, likewise said that the addition “overwhelms everything,” including the historic White House residence. A group of 29 architects signed a letter saying that “the scale and location of the proposed ballroom creates an extreme imbalance of the White House,” while some commenters were more visceral in their loathing of the project.
“Please do whatever is within your power to stop and permanently prevent Trump from ruining our White House any further with the hideous ballroom,” a member of the public identified as Karen Centers urged commission members.
Commission resistance appears unlikely. In addition to the control wielded by Trump’s appointees on the panel, a new commission staff report recommends approval of what is formally known as the East Wing Modernization Project.
“Staff acknowledges the scale of the project,” the report states, while adding that it is “unlikely to change the main views of the Executive Mansion as the most recognized portion of the White House complex, particularly from the key locations to the north and south, where the public has views of the Mansion today.”
The now-destroyed East Wing spanned about 15,000 square feet. Trump’s plans call for it to be replaced by a two-story building that would include a 22,000-square-foot ballroom with a 40-foot-high ceiling and a space capable of holding about 1,000 seats.
The new building will also include a commercial kitchen, an office suite for the first lady and a movie theater. Trump has insisted that the project will be paid for with private donations.
Paul Ingrassia, a Trump administration appointee sitting in on behalf of the General Services Administration, where he is acting general counsel, praised the project and dismissed complaints about its scale. Compared to a “lot of European” ballrooms in countries like “Austria, Italy [and] France,” Ingrassia said, the president’s ballroom is “fairly modest in size.”
The commission’s staff report noted that, in response to previously voiced concerns, plans for a triangular pediment on the south facade of the new building were dropped to lower the height.
“Likewise, there may be an opportunity to continue to improve the overall south portico design,” the commission staff report notes, adding that “the density of columns appears to create a heavy and dark facade.”
The commission staff also observed that temporary security elements around the White House “continue to detract from the visitor experience and should be improved to help beautify” the area after the ballroom is finished.
All told, the commission staff reported receiving more than 32,000 public comments on the White House ballroom project. The “vast majority” opposed the project, according to the commission staff, although a number of the objections cited issues outside of the commission’s official jurisdiction, including the destruction of the old East Wing.
Established in 1924, the National Capital Planning Commission oversees planning for all federal properties in the 2,500-square-mile National Capital Region. This approval authority includes the White House with its grounds.
Scharf, the lawyer whom Trump appointed as commission chair, also serves as White House staff secretary. The vice chair, Stuart Levenbach, is an Office of Management and Budget associate director. A third Trump appointee, James Blair, serves as the White House’s deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs.
In addition to the three presidential appointees, the 12-member commission also includes representatives of the D.C. mayor’s office, the Council of the District of Columbia, Congress, the General Services Administration, and the Interior and Defense departments.
An advisory panel similarly controlled by Trump’s appointees, the Commission of Fine Arts, approved the White House ballroom project in February. The commission moved unusually fast, approving both concept and final plan in one session.
The National Capital Planning Commission meeting is being livestreamed starting at 1 p.m., with an anticipated adjournment time of 8 p.m.
