East Wing expansion plans revealed as Trump team pushes for fast-track approval

Axios: The new East Wing addition is slated to be two stories, and rise to the same height as the White House, according to plans the architect for President Trump’s ballroom revealed yesterday. The glowup could now also include adding a second-story addition to the existing West Wing colonnade so the two wings are symmetrical.

• The big picture: Many locals and historic preservationists were horrified when the East Wing was demolished last year without many of the traditional greenlights — which Trump’s administration has said it didn’t need. The project has ballooned in scope since it was first announced, and is currently estimated to cost $400 million.
• Meanwhile, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) — one of the groups with final say over the project — is now stacked with Trump loyalists.
• Driving the news: Shalom Baranes, the president’s architect, clarified yesterday that the 90,000-square-foot figure that has been associated with the ballroom project will actually play out across two floors.
• Upstairs: a 22,000-square-foot ballroom for 1,000 seated guests.
• Downstairs: a commercial kitchen, an office area for the First Lady and a rebuilt movie theater. The lower level will also have an entrance and a grand staircase visitors can use to access the ballroom.
• Baranes outlined the plans during an informational presentation to the NCPC — the first part of the project’s review process.
• Friction point: D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, who sits on the commission, told Baranes during the meeting he was worried the addition could be “overwhelming” to the existing structure.
• The other side: Baranes said his team made the decision when it joined the project last year that it wouldn’t pursue plans to expand its existing scope, and that their goal is “a thoughtful middle ground” that maintains “the visual primacy of the White House.”
• He noted that the new East Wing will be set back 10.5 feet from the White House’s main facade on Pennsylvania Avenue. The addition will be painted white to match the existing structure, Baranes said.
• State of play: Excavation and foundation work on the project has started. Between the lines: Reviews with architects and engineers showed significant structural damage and deterioration in the East Wing, meaning it was most cost-efficient to tear it down and rebuild rather than renovate, White House official Josh Fisher said at the meeting.
• The administration “took great steps” to preserve historic aspects, like parts of the original colonnade and elements of the movie theater, Fisher said.
• What’s next: Team Trump wants to get the sign-off process done quicker than what’s standard for these types of projects — which can usually drag out months or years.
• Some officials have said construction could start above ground as soon as April, and that the ballroom will be finished before Trump’s term is over.
• Baranes and administration members will give a similar presentation before the Commission of Fine Arts later this month. The NCPC will vote on the project in March…”