WASHINGTON, Aug 01 (AFP): President Donald Trump, who is remodeling the White House to his tastes, will build a massive ballroom for hosting official receptions, one of the largest projects at the US executive mansion in over a century.
Trump himself and unspecified donors will foot the bill for the $200 million project, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a press briefing on Thursday.
"For 150 years, presidents, administrations and White House staff have longed for a large event space on the White House complex," the spokeswoman said.
"There's never been a president that was good at ballrooms," the 79-year-old president and former real estate developer told reporters of the latest bid to leave his mark on the White House.
"I'm good at building things, and we'll get it built quickly and on time. It'll be beautiful," said Trump, assuring that the character of the original building would be preserved.
The new structure will span over 8,000 square meters (90,000 square feet) and have space to seat 650 people, according to Leavitt.
Work on the ballroom-one of Trump's long-time ambitions-will begin in September and is expected to be completed "well before" the end of his second term in January 2029, Leavitt said.
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