From NBC News · Dareh Gregorian · · 1m 40s
White House approves visitor screening center
The National Capital Planning Commission unanimously approved plans for a new White House Visitor Screening Facility, part of President Trump's White House overhaul.
In brief
The National Capital Planning Commission unanimously approved plans for a new White House Visitor Screening Facility, part of President Trump's White House overhaul. The National Capital Planning Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve building plans for a new White House Visitor Screening Facility as part of…
Commission approves screening center
The National Capital Planning Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve building plans for a new White House Visitor Screening Facility as part of President Trump's White House grounds overhaul.
Project has bipartisan backing
The facility is part of Trump's massive overhaul of the White House grounds but has enjoyed bipartisan support and drawn little pushback compared to his other construction plans.
Location and design details
The facility will be built off fifteen-th Street in Sherman Park with an entrance leading below ground for screening. Visitors will exit by the East Wing, site of Trump's more controversial ballroom project.
Facility features and capacity
The facility will include a versatile indoor open-floor-plan space for Secret Service screening technology and significant indoor queuing for large events, with seven hundred person occupancy within the screening facility.
Current screening inadequate
Visitors to the White House are now screened in temporary double-wide trailers and tents, which the Secret Service has said fall short of its security needs.
Architectural alignment planned
The exit of the new facility will have Corinthian columns to align with the ballroom's language, connecting the screening center to Trump's ninety-thousand-square-foot ballroom approved in April.
Construction timeline set
Construction work is expected to begin in the next month and finish at some point in twenty twenty-eight.
The short version
The National Capital Planning Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve building plans for a new White House Visitor Screening Facility as part of President Trump's White House grounds overhaul.
