Donald Trump Says Construction Has Begun on Massive New White House Ballroom

Construction for the White House ballroom is underway.

While speaking to reporters on Sept. 12, President Donald Trump shared that his planned ballroom — a 90,000 square foot, $200 million addition to the East Wing — is becoming a reality. Roughly six weeks after he announced the plans, the president showed off the construction trucks heading onto the White House grounds.

“Right there, you see all the trucks. They just started construction of the new ballroom for the White House, which is something they’ve been trying to get for about 150 years,” Trump said. “And it’s going to be a beauty. It’ll be an absolutely magnificent structure.”

Trump first announced his plans for the ballroom on July 31, sharing details and plans for the space in a press release. The ballroom, an effort to “modernize” the East Wing and serve as a hosting space for foreign dignitaries, is slated to feature an gold chandeliers, coffered ceilings and an expansive floor space, flanked by Greek columns and massive arched windows.

“The White House Ballroom will be substantially separated from the main building of the White House, but at the same time, its theme and architectural heritage will be almost identical,” the release stated. “The site of the new ballroom will be where the small, heavily changed, and reconstructed East Wing currently sits.”

The ballroom’s anticipated design is not unlike the hosting space at Trump’s Palm Beach mansion, Mar-a-Lago. Both are primarily characterized by gold details throughout — the chairs, the intricate details on the ceilings and the chandeliers.

A series of sources told PEOPLE in August that the Trump family is “bringing Mar-a-Lago to Washington” through renovations on the historic building.

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In addition to the ballroom, the Trumps have added the signature orange and white Mar-a-Lago beach umbrellas where the Rose Garden used to be, and ushered in the president’s “gold guy” to add heavy metallic accents throughout the White House’s interior.

Though the White House has not announced a planned completion date for the ballroom, the release stated the structure would be open “long before the end of President Trump’s term.”