Donald Trump has replaced the architect originally selected to oversee his $300m planned gilded ballroom.
According to the Washington Post, which first reported the news on Thursday and cited three people familiar with the matter, architect James McCrery II and his boutique firm had been leading the project for more than three months, up until late October.
The president and McCrery disagreed at times, particularly over Trump’s interest in expanding the 90,000-sq-ft ballroom’s size, the Washington Post reported. However, it was ultimately the firm’s limited staff and missed deadlines that prompted the change, one person said.
It is unclear whether McCrery chose to step aside voluntarily. However, one source noted that he and Trump parted on good terms.
Trump has now selected Shalom Baranes as the project’s new architect, which the White House confirmed. Baranes, whose previous work includes significant federal projects such as the main Treasury building near the White House, received strong praise in a written statement from White House spokesperson David Ingle.
“As we begin to transition into the next stage of development on the White House Ballroom, the administration is excited to share that the highly talented Shalom Baranes has joined the team of experts to carry out President Trump’s vision on building what will be the greatest addition to the White House since the Oval Office – the White House Ballroom,” Ingle said.
“Shalom is an accomplished architect whose work has shaped the architectural identity of our nation’s capital for decades and his experience will be a great asset to the completion of this project,” he added.
According to the White House, McCrery will continue to remain a consultant on the project.
In October, Trump received widespread criticism following satellite images that showed a completely demolished East Wing to pave way for the ballroom, contradicting Trump’s earlier promise that the existing building would not be touched.
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That same month,Trump fired all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency in charge of reviewing the ballroom project and a proposed “Arc de Trump” in Washington DC.
