Trump Says Kennedy Center Renovation Won’t Be A Full Tear-down

President Donald Trump said he won’t tear down the Kennedy Center as part of his newly announced renovation of the cultural landmark, but will take down “some” of the building’s iconic marble when construction starts later this year.

Trump told reporters on Monday he expects the project, which the president first announced in a social media post on Sunday, will cost at least $200 million. He added that his renovation will maintain the building’s steel frame and “some of the marble” that currently encases the building.

“I'm not ripping it down,” Trump said. “I'll be using the steel. So we're using the structure. We're using some of the marble, and some of the marble comes down. But when it's open, it'll be brand new and really beautiful.”

Trump’s comments offer a glimpse into the future for the famed arts and cultural center following a tumultuous year that has seen the president meddle in the center’s programming and organizational decisions despite protests from the arts community.

A handful of artists withdrew from the board of the Kennedy Center after Trump installed ally Ric Grenell to run it, and several performers backed out of playing the venue during Trump’s first year in office. In January, the Washington National Opera announced it would move its shows away from the center, and last week composer Philip Glass canceled a string of scheduled orchestral performances.

The renovations, which Trump said will begin on July 4, will likely prevent any performances from taking place during construction. Trump did not say how long the renovations would take.

A senior White House official, granted anonymity to speak candidly, described the project as “renovations” rather than a “whole scale tear down” but characterized the construction as a “pretty significant renovation.”

Trump has frequently used the Kennedy Center, which he referred to on Monday as “run down” and “dilapidated,” to elevate himself in the world of arts and culture. Aside from affixing his own name to the building, Trump hosted the annual Kennedy Center Honors in December. He co-hosted the FIFA World Cup draw at the venue that same month, where he was presented with the FIFA Peace Prize. And on Friday, the center rolled out the red carpet for the debut of first lady Melania Trump’s new Amazon Prime documentary.

The Kennedy Center renovations are the president’s latest attempt to reconstruct the nation’s capital in his image. His paving over of the White House Rose Garden was completed last year, and his construction of a ballroom in place of the bulldozed East Wing of the White House remains ongoing. On Saturday, the Washington Post reported that Trump is proposing to build a 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia.

Eli Stokols contributed to this report.