By Mike Scarcella
WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) – A coalition of U.S. historic preservation and architectural organizations sued President Donald Trump and the Kennedy Center’s board on Monday, seeking to block a major reconstruction of the Washington performing arts complex.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, the American Institute of Architects and six other groups alleged in a lawsuit in federal court in Washington that the Trump administration launched the project without required congressional approval and bypassed mandatory federal reviews.
The organizations contend the planned project, which will require the closure of the building for two years, goes beyond what the Kennedy Center’s governing law permits.
According to the lawsuit, that law limits the board’s authority to repairs and improvements necessary to maintain the building’s basic functionality.
“The Kennedy Center is not a personal project of any president,” Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League, said in a statement. “It is a national cultural monument built to honor John F. Kennedy and to serve the American people.”
‘FINEST PERFORMING ARTS FACILITY IN THE WORLD’
A White House spokesperson on Monday said: “President Trump is committed to making the Trump-Kennedy Center the finest performing arts facility in the world. We look forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Kennedy Center overhaul is part of Trump’s ambitious effort to remake Washington, including the planned construction of a 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the site of the White House’s East Wing that Trump demolished last year.
A federal judge in Washington is expected to rule this month whether to freeze work on the ballroom project, in a separate lawsuit brought by the National Trust.
The Kennedy Center opened in 1971 as a living memorial to the late President John F. Kennedy.
Monday’s lawsuit alleges the Trump administration already caused unlawful damage to the building by repainting its 200 gold columns white and adding new exterior signage placing Trump’s name above Kennedy’s.
Further renovations on the building are set to begin after the July 4 Independence Day holiday.
Trump has defended his plans to close the Kennedy Center for two years of renovation, saying it was necessary to complete the overhaul quickly.
“When you do marbles, you can’t have people walking over the marble every night, as it’s drying and setting, and going to a play,” he said.
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario, Peter Graff and Jan Harvey)
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