By Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) – The White House will make its case on Thursday for a new $400 million ballroom before a commission that oversees federal building construction in Washington and is led by one of President Donald Trump’s aides.
Trump, a Republican who had the East Wing of the White House demolished last year, has championed the 90,000-square-foot project that will replace it. The hearing, which is expected to be livestreamed, will be the first time that plans for the ballroom are presented and discussed in a public setting.
Preservationists and opponents of the plan have criticized the destruction of a part of the White House that housed the offices of the first lady and a movie theater. Trump’s aides have said they did not need approval for the demolition but are seeking a green light for the new build.
A federal judge, while hearing a lawsuit alleging the project abuses presidential power, said last month he was not inclined to order the administration to immediately halt the work.
In December, the White House submitted a formal application to the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts for the ballroom.
The NCPC, which is chaired by Will Scharf, who serves as Trump’s White House staff secretary, will hold the informational meeting about the project on Thursday.
Officials representing the White House will present a deck of pictures and plans, some of which are already available on the White House website.
Last year, Trump bristled at a question about critics lamenting a lack of transparency in the process. But the project has played out differently than he first suggested.
Before the East Wing demolition, Trump had said the new ballroom would not touch the existing mansion. An announcement in July, which is still available on the White House website, says the ballroom will be “substantially separated from the main building of the White House.”
Demolition had begun by the time the administration confirmed in October that the entire East Wing was being torn down for the project.
Trump wants the ballroom finished before his term concludes in three years. Last week, during his holiday trip to Florida, he perused marble and onyx options for the ballroom at an Italian stone importer.
The process for approval is not expected to last long.
The CFA will hold a public informational meeting about the ballroom on January 15 and a final presentation is scheduled for February 19.
The White House will make its final submission of the ballroom plans to the NCPC by January 30 and its final presentation to that board on March 5.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and David Gregorio)
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