WASHINGTON — The Kennedy name will remain in the Trump Kennedy Center after the massive theater complex undergoes a multi-million dollar renovation that will close its doors for two years, officials said.
President Trump has been heavily involved in the repair and renovation project after adding his name to the building and appointing himself chairman of the board.
“The president is really great at this, and I think his input is invaluable,” Matt Floca, the center’s executive director and chief operating officer, told reporters on Wednesday during a preview of the repair project. “He’s in the details, and it’s amazing. I really respect the input he’s given. It’s been great.”
And a Trump Kennedy Center official working on the project joked of the president: “I’m incredibly worried he’ll be here every day.”
The president, who made his name in real estate, has been hands-on for the various renovation projects he has in the works, including checking in on the construction of the White House ballroom and stopping to talk to workers replacing the pavers on the colonnade of the Rose Garden.
But the center, which was built in the 1970s and is considered a “living memorial” to President John F. Kennedy, will keep the name of the 35th president alongside the moniker of the current one.
“I can’t think of any JFK changes. We’re maintaining the memorial; during closure some of it will move into The REACH so it’s still on public display. We’re maintaining the JFK bust where it is,” Floca said, referring to the center’s annex.
“The memorial at large will stay the same. All of the quotes and everything on the marble on the exterior building, none of that’s changing.”
What officials didn’t expand on was how much more of Trump will be seen in the building.
During Wednesday’s media tour, they took pains to point to the decades-old infrastructure that needs updating and massive amounts of water damage throughout the complex, but deflected when asked about aesthetic changes.
“There will be interior design changes we’re still working through,” a Trump Kennedy Center Official, adding, “we’re still figuring them out.”
Those changes will come in year two of the project, which will focus on public-facing issues, including theater interiors, restrooms and private areas for the center’s top donors. The theaters will get new staging, carpet and seating, although officials said the iconic red color will remain.
“Similar but elevated,” was their description for how the theater spaces will look when completed.
The Trump Kennedy Center will close its doors for two years on July 5th, meaning many of its staff have been laid off.
Officials denied reports that the center was closing its doors because of declining ticket sales as part of a backlash against Trump’s takeover.
“The decision to close the center, is completely founded in the maintenance needs of this building and not the mission, or not the programming,” Floca said. “We have to address these structural issues.”
“The time to make this investment is now,” he added.
Floca has personally walked Congressional leaders, Board Members, donors, neighbors, and local officials through this building to show the necessary repairs. Staff from the congressional leadership offices — including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) — have been shown the damage.
The first year of the project will focus on structural issues, including shoring up steel beams that are a critical part of the infrastructure and combatting decades of water damage throughout the 1.5-million-square-foot facility that sits on 17 acres next to the Potomac River.
Scaffolding will go up to repair the 2,000+ pound soffit panels along the roof terrace overhangs that have reached “end-of-life” status, as well as to replace marble that was damaged by water.
Water damage from the nearby Potomac River and rainstorms is extensive.
Officials said the damage was “due to lack of controlling water and not being able to drive it away from the building.”
There will also be “intensive fixes” to the water pump, the HVAC system and the massive electrical transformers that power the building.
The president’s One Big Beautiful Bill allocated $257 million to fix the building’s infrastructure needs. Officials are raising funds from donors for many of the aesthetic issues.
In a media tour of the center on Wednesday, officials showed the water damage to both the exterior and interior of the building: pavers need to be replaced, marble is cracked, the heating and cooling system is rusted, and some of the steel beams are corroded, emphasizing how much physical damage has been done to the building.
“The steel has become delicate like tissue paper and pieces break off,” an official told the reporters.
Despite the structural issues, officials said the building wasn’t in imminent danger of structural failure and any area of concern has already been closed to the public.
“Now is the time to act,” an official said. “Is anything going to fall down tomorrow? The only real risk is the soffit panel systems, which is where we have a section closed off.”
