An underground room for screening White House visitors: Trump's new project

 

 White House

An underground room for screening White House visitors: Trump's new project

The Trump administration has unveiled plans to build a new underground security screening center for White House visitors, in a move aimed at enhancing security measures and regulating the entry of guests and tourists to the presidential residence more efficiently.

According to the preliminary schedule published by the National Capital Planning Commission, the federal agency responsible for approving construction projects on government land within Washington, the project includes the construction of an inspection center with an area of ​​approximately 33,000 square feet.

The center will be located below Sherman Park, directly southeast of the White House and south of the U.S. Treasury Department building, according to Politico.
The project is part of a broader plan to develop the security and organizational infrastructure around the White House, after years of relying on temporary facilities to conduct security screenings for visitors.

The plans indicate that the new center will have seven separate inspection lanes, allowing for the processing of larger numbers of visitors and reducing the long waiting times that tourists and guests face before entering the presidential complex.

New regulations for visitor entry

Sherman Park has long been a major gathering point for visitors to the White House before they undergo security screening. Visitors would then pass through a series of temporary structures to reach the entrance to the East Wing of the presidential residence.

However, this system changed after the Trump administration’s decision last fall to remove the historic East Wing of the presidential complex, a decision that prompted authorities to temporarily move the checkpoint to the area near Lafayette Park on the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue.

The new center is expected to address these challenges by providing a permanent facility specifically designed to receive visitors, while improving security levels and the flow of entry.

The architectural plans were careful to preserve the historical landmarks on the site, as the documents confirmed that the project would not affect the General William Tecumseh Sherman Memorial located in the center of the park, which is one of the most prominent historical landmarks in the area.

Initial estimates indicate that construction work may begin next August, with the center expected to be operational by July 2028, about six months before the end of the current presidential term.

New banquet hall

The inspection center project is also linked to a larger plan to remodel parts of the presidential complex, including the construction of a huge ceremonial hall on the site of the former East Wing.

The proposed building will cover approximately 90,000 square feet and is planned to include a main hall for official events and major diplomatic receptions hosted by the White House.

The project aims to provide more space for official events, as US administrations have for decades relied on relatively limited halls within the presidential complex, most notably the East Hall in the main building.

Officials say the new hall will allow for hosting official events and banquets with a larger number of guests compared to current facilities, and will also provide modern infrastructure for major diplomatic events.