Construction of 90,000 Square Feet Ballroom to Begin in September, White House Says

Good afternoon, everyone. We are proud to announce that the construction of the new White House Ballroom will begin. For 150 years, presidents, administrations, and White House staff have longed for a large event space on the White House complex that can hold substantially more guests than currently allowed. President Trump has expressed his commitment to solving this problem on behalf of future administrations and the American people. The White House is one of the most beautiful and historic buildings in the world, yet the White House is currently unable to host major functions honoring world leaders in other countries without having to install a large and unsightly tent approximately 100 yards away from the main building's entrance. The White House State Ballroom will be a much-needed and exquisite addition of approximately 90,000 total square feet of innately designed and carefully crafted space with a seated capacity of 650 people, which is a significant increase from the 200-person seated capacity in the East Room of the White House. In recent weeks, President Trump has held several meetings with members of the White House staff, the National Park Service, the White House Military Office, and the United States Secret Service to discuss design features and planning. President Trump has chosen McCreery Architects as the lead architect, which is well known for their classical architectural design and based right here in our nation's capital. The construction team will be headed by Clark Construction and the engineering team will be led by AECOM. The project will begin in September 2025 and it is expected to be completed long before the end of President Trump's term. President Trump and other donors have generously committed to donating the funds necessary to build this approximately $200 million structure. The United States Secret Service will provide the necessary security enhancements and modifications. The White House Ballroom will be substantially separated from the main building of the White House, but at the same time, its theme and architectural heritage will be almost identical. The site of the new ballroom will be where the small, heavily changed and reconstructed East Wing currently sits. The East Wing was constructed in 1902 and has been renovated and changed many times, with a second story added in 1942. White House Chief of Staff Suzy Wiles has provided the following statement, President Trump is a builder at heart and has an extraordinary eye for detail. The President and the Trump 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. In the White House, we will continue to provide the American public and all of you in the press with updates on this project at whitehouse.gov visit. And if you go there shortly, you will be able to see renderings and visuals of what this ballroom will look like, both the exterior and the interior. I have provided some photos for all of you in the room today. This is the interior of ballroom space. It's quite beautiful. And then this is the exterior of the ballroom space. As you can see, it will come off of the Executive Mansion as it sits today, and the East Wing will be modernized and renovated.