Trump Swaps Architects on White House Ballroom Plan

President Donald Trump is rebooting his $300 million White House ballroom project, tapping one of Washington’s most seasoned institutional architects after months of strain with the boutique designer originally chosen for the job.

Trump brought in Shalom Baranes — the go-to architect for federal agencies in the nation’s capital — to steer the 90,000-square-foot venue, according to the Washington Post. James McCrery II apparently stopped work on the project by late October but is staying on in a consulting role, though the extent of that involvement is unclear.

Trump’s pick of McCrery and his tiny classical-design shop had raised eyebrows from the start for its ability to deliver a near-megaproject on a compressed timeline.

Trump and McCrery sparred over the president’s push to continually grow the ballroom’s footprint, but McCrery’s small firm struggled to meet the project’s deadlines, one of the people told the outlet. Insiders doubted whether a team built for churches and libraries could scale up to a ground-up civic complex meant to host nearly 1,000 guests (and do it before Trump leaves office).

Federal officials typically award projects of this size to firms several times larger.

Baranes’ appointment is a pivot toward Beltway institutionalism. His firm has spent decades shaping the capital’s federal landscape, including work on the Treasury Building, the Federal Reserve and the GSA headquarters. He also led the $1 billion post-9/11 Pentagon renovation, giving him credibility on politically fraught, high-security jobs.

The White House is taking him with bringing “the greatest addition to the White House since the Oval Office.”

The project is racing ahead with little public information. Crews demolished the East Wing, drove piles and hoisted cranes before the National Capital Planning Commission — the body that oversees federal development — had seen formal plans.

That’s atypical for federal construction, especially one altering one of the most protected properties in the country. NCPC’s new chair, Will Scharf, said he expects to review proposals this month, noting they are moving “at a normal and deliberative pace,” even though the agency wasn’t looped in early.

Preservationists and Democrats argue the administration has cut corners on oversight. Sen. Richard Blumenthal introduced the “No Palaces Act” to force congressional and NCPC review for future White House demolitions and the use of private funding in such projects.

— Holden Walter-Warner