The 33,000-square-foot facility proposed beneath Sherman Park would process visitors entering the White House and could open by mid-2028 if approved.
Construction could begin as early as August, and the White House hopes to have the facility operational by July 2028, just six months before the end of President Donald Trump’s term.
Prior to construction in the East Wing, the park has long been where tourists and guests bound for the White House have reported for security checks through trailer-type structures before heading to the East Wing entrance.
Currently, visitors are checked near Lafayette Park, which is across from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Project plans state that the monument of Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in Sherman Park would not be removed.
On the same agenda is a final vote on the plans to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom where the East Wing previously stood.
On Feb. 19, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency, approved a proposal for a new White House ballroom.
The design for the new building, shared by Trump on Truth Social on Feb. 3, depicts a complex that would match the scale and height of the White House.
“This beautiful building will be, when complete, the much anticipated White House Ballroom—The Greatest of its kind ever built!” Trump wrote, noting that the design is “totally in keeping with [the] historic White House.”
Speaking of the ballroom plans, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., chairman of the Fine Arts Commission, said: “Our sitting president has actually designed a very beautiful structure.
“The United States just should not be entertaining the world in tents.”
Demolition on the wing began in October 2025, paving the way for the ballroom, expected to cost $200 million in private donations.
The White House East Room could seat about 200 guests, while the new building is projected to hold nearly 1,000 guests.
