President Donald Trump’s proposal to repaint the stone exterior of a historic office building next to the White House cleared a federal planning agency hurdle over criticism from opponents who say the move would be costly and irreversible.
The National Capital Planning Commission on Thursday gave a thumbs-up to continuing discussion about allowing a white coating to be painted on the gray granite facade of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at 1650 17th St. NW.
The action means the commission’s review of the proposal can proceed; it is not a final decision on whether painting of the property will occur. A lawsuit has been filed in federal district court in D.C. to block the action.
Trump’s administration argued the move would enhance the property’s appearance and unify its look with the White House complex, while those against the move say it not only disrespects the building’s architectural significance but could cause structural damage that would heavily cost American taxpayers.
“In sum, painting the exterior now would obscure the landmark’s historic appearance, would undermine its character-defining features and accelerate the building’s deterioration,” said Rob Nieweg of the D.C.-based nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation during the commission meeting. Several others voiced concern during the meeting or wrote to the commission to express opposition to the action.
At nearly 663,000 square feet, the seven-story property has not been painted since its completion nearly 140 years ago. It sits directly west of the White House and hosts the offices of much of the president’s staff.
The White House said the project would enhance the building's aesthetics.
"President Trump continues to beautify the White House and our Nation’s Capital and is giving it the glory it deserves — something everyone should celebrate," Davis Ingle, a White House spokesman, told CoStar News via email.
A spokesperson for the General Services Administration, the federal agency that manages government real estate, told CoStar News via email it “has a seat on the National Capital Planning Commission and will vote on the proposal.”
The White House’s pitch
Trump’s team told the commission that grime, soot and staining have affected the Eisenhower office building's natural stone and dulled the granite. Aside from minor exterior maintenance in the 1960s and early 2000s, there has been no other notable restoration to the building, which has some abrasions and cracks, the team added.
A preliminary estimate shows it could cost about $7.5 million to paint the complex in a manner that would have a planned 25-year lifespan, said Ryan Erb, a construction operations project manager with the White House, at the commission meeting. He said his team is testing silicate paint materials with a third-party vendor to determine the total price of the project.
He told the commission his team does not have permission yet to engage in testing on the Eisenhower building itself, but noted preliminary tests on stone from a quarry in Maine where granite for the property was originally sourced found the silicate formed a strong bond with the rock and was able to be removed with just water.
“The initial data was encouraging for this process,” he said.
Since retaking office, Trump and his administration have reshaped the government’s real estate portfolio in the nation’s capital and beyond, from encouraging the disposal of underutilized office buildings to mandating an architectural style of others to demolishing the White House’s East Wing.
The president raised the idea of painting the Eisenhower building last year. The Commission of Fine Arts, another federal agency with design review authority, supported the concept in April, conditional upon the successful technical testing of the proposed exterior paint.
Once the largest office building in D.C., the French Second Empire-style building was designed by Alfred B. Mullett. It was built between 1871 and 1888 as the State, War, and Navy Department Building.
In 1949, the building became the Executive Office Building, and it was renamed the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building in 1999. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1969, the building mimics the shape of the Treasury Building that flanks the opposite side of the White House.
The White House team said during the commission meeting it is working on the process of complying with a component of the National Historic Preservation Act.
‘Severe and irreparable adverse effects’
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has said the suggested changes to the Eisenhower building would cause “severe and irreparable adverse effects."
Coating the surface with an impermeable layer of paint would trap moisture within the masonry and accelerate physical deterioration, cracking, scaling and spalling, the group said.
A large portion of the building's granite came from a quarry in Vinalhaven, Maine, that also supplied exterior stone to properties in D.C. such as the Old Post Office Building, according to David Scott Parker, an architect who spoke during a webinar led by the nonprofit last week.
“Granite is a natural material and needs to breathe,” he said. “It is analogous in many ways to skin. Hermetically sealing stone negates its ability to naturally adapt to changing moisture conditions and can cause trapped particulates ... to rust and weep to the surface. Think of dirt in skin pores blistering as pimples,” he continued.
Furthering the comparison, Parker described a paint job to the property as “cosmetic” and “like makeup." He disputed the White House’s predicted longevity of the paint by saying cleaning and repainting may be necessary every five to seven years in a “costly cycle.”