Kennedy Center Cancels $650M Expansion Plan

WASHINGTON, DC-Plans for a $650-million expansion of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have been suspended, indefinitely, as a result of Congress' elimination of a $400-million allotment for the project from recently passed legislation. "As the new Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill does not include an allocation of funds for the Kennedy Center Plaza Project," Kennedy Center president Michael M. Kaiser says, "the Kennedy Center is placing the project on hold."

Kennedy Center officials made the official presentation of the expansion proposal--which would have consisted of the addition of a two-building plaza designed by architect Rafael Viñoly and paths connecting to the National Mall--back in 2001. Congress passed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Plaza Authorization Act in 2002, which empowered the US Department of Transportation to shell out as much as $400 million to bring the project to fruition.

Occupying a 17-acre parcel at 2700 F St. NW along the Potomac River in the city's Foggy Bottom area, the Kennedy Center, originally donned National Center for the Performing Arts, came into being in 1958. Today the arts destination consists of approximately 1.5 million sf of usable space that includes, among other features, eight theaters, 50,000 sf for administrative offices, two public restaurants, meeting rooms, rehearsal space and parking to accommodate about 2,000 vehicles.

The Plaza Project would have added two structures containing an aggregate 402,000 sf on eight acres. One building would have contained an educational center, exhibition space and office space, while the other structure would have housed rehearsal space and more office space. Additionally, the project called for a covering to be placed over the Potomac Freeway, the repositioning of roadways, a fountain spanning four blocks, a connector to the waterfront and pedestrian and biking paths extending all the way to the National Mall.

The Plaza Project, however, is down but not out, according to Kennedy Center officials. "The center is aware that budget constraints have made it difficult for Congress to fund this particular project," Kaiser adds. "We are hopeful that Congress will, at a later date, be able to fund the Plaza Project."