Trump's plan to repaint Washington, DC's Eisenhower Building could cost more than $7.5m

"First, we need to understand the project's potential visual and physical impacts both to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and to the Lafayette Square National Historic Landmark District. He also acknowledged the extensive public interest in the project, including "over 2,000 written comments submitted through our agency website"-the vast majority of them negative."

"In a 1.5-hour session that included impassioned comments from preservationists and the public speaking out against the plan, as well as some probing questions from commission members, the panel approved a motion requesting further details about how paint will impact the historic building, how much continued maintenance would cost, and whether less intrusive and more affordable options to "brighten the building", like exterior lighting, could be used instead."

"While stating that agency staff supports the White House proposal to clean, repaint, reseal and restore the building's façades, Weil said more information is needed to fully evaluate the painting proposal. Presenting the NCPC's staff report on the proposal, the urban planner Michael Weil related the history of the EEOB, which underwent a major cleaning and modernisation effort between 2004 and 2012."

"Ryan Erb, the construction operations manager for the White House Office of Administration (WHOA), then answered questions from commission members, starting with Evan Cash, who also serves on the Council of the District of Columbia. Cash was concerned about not just the cost of painting the entire city-block-sized building white, but the ongoing work to keep it clean and stain-free."

A proposal to paint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building’s granite exterior white was brought before the National Capital Planning Commission and did not receive immediate approval. Preservationists and members of the public raised concerns during a lengthy session, and commission members requested additional information. The motion asked how paint would affect the historic building and the Lafayette Square National Historic Landmark District, what continued maintenance would cost, and whether less intrusive, more affordable options such as exterior lighting could brighten the building instead. The NCPC staff report noted prior cleaning and modernization work from 2004 to 2012 and stated that agency staff supports cleaning, repainting, resealing, and restoring facades, but needs more information to evaluate the painting plan fully.

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