Scoop: Take a look at Trump's Kennedy Center renovation plans
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Shortly after taking over the Kennedy Center, President Trump speaks at the Grand Foyer in March 2025. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
President Trump's Kennedy Center renovation would polish its Carrara marble facade, remodel its grand halls and theaters, and likely send marquee events offsite over the next few years, according to 180 pages of plans first obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: It's the first deep look at the scale of Trump's proposed overhaul of the Washington performing arts center.
- The internal documents call for $24.7 million to upgrade the Concert Hall, which seats 2,465 people and holds a $2 million pipe organ.
- A "Front of the House Renewal" would give spaces like the Grand Foyer their first significant renovation since the 1990s.
- Throughout the building, the project would refurbish aging infrastructure like elevators and plumbing systems.
- "The state of disrepair is significant and escalating," says a two-slide construction assessment prepared by Virginia-based Delta Consulting Group.
The big picture: The consulting group prepared two renovation options for the Kennedy Center board, chaired by Trump, to consider at its highly anticipated meeting on Thursday.
- The first option: A four-year renovation that would partially close the building in phases, allowing the National Symphony Orchestra to perform on site.
- That option would balloon the total cost to $560 million, more than double the $257 million Congress already approved.
The second option: Close the main building for two years, sending the NSO "offsite through regional partner venues, touring and digital broadcasts," the report says. The Kennedy Center Honors and Mark Twain Prize would also move elsewhere.
- The $257 million approved by Congress would fund 90% of those plans. Consultants suggest fundraising an additional $30 million.
- The indoor-outdoor REACH space would remain open as a living memorial to former President John F. Kennedy — which is one of the congressionally mandated missions of the center.
Between the lines: It's unclear what'll happen to employees during the project, with the report noting that the second option "enables staff reduction and a reset of expenses."
- "Key staff will be redeployed in alignment with the needs of the Center during renovations," it adds.
A Kennedy Center spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zoom in: The Grand Foyer — with its iconic red carpet and soaring ceilings — would get "new furniture throughout," "less sheer" draperies and "new featured marble flooring," according to a development plan prepared by JLL.
- The plans devote $48 million to restoring the Concert Hall, Opera House, Eisenhower Theater, Family Theater, Terrace Theater, and Theater Lab.
- Theater lobbies and lounges will get new flooring and lighting fixtures.
- The box office would be relocated, and a new coffee shop is planned.
- VIPs would get their own restroom — no more using the public facilities — inside a renovated Reception Room.
What's ahead: These plans will need to be submitted to a federal judge, who halted the closure in May and requested detailed documentation about how the closure would affect the Kennedy Center.
What we're watching: Whether there'll be any distinctly Trump touches on the remodeling. The documents sent to board members are largely nuts-and-bolts plans and blueprints, offering few clues so far.
- Last year, for example, the building's formerly gold exterior columns were repainted white.