• By Stephen Staudig;
• May 08, 2026

NCPC Provides Comments on the Eisenhower Executive Office Building Exterior Beautification Project

At its  Thursday, May 7 meeting  the National Capital Planning Commission provided comments on concept plans for the Eisenhower Executive Office Building Exterior Beautification Project to the project applicant. The Commission will consider preliminary and final approval of the project in the future. 

Plans submitted by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Administration call for improvements to the building’s exterior that include cleaning and masonry preservation measures such as re-pointing, sealant replacement, and stone restoration, as well as painting the exterior façade, and repainting cast iron elements. The application included two painting options. The first would paint the entire building except for the base. The second would paint the building including the base. The historic building, designed in the French Second Empire Style and located adjacent to the White House at 1650 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, was constructed between 1871 and 1888 and was renamed the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building in 1999.

Commissioners supported the applicant’s intent to clean and preserve the building’s masonry with re-pointing, sealant replacement, and stone restoration. They requested a summary of other measures considered to meet the project goals, including cleaning the building and/or lighting.

They also requested additional information prior to the next Commission review in order to be able to evaluate the painting options, including information about the proposed paint to be used, details regarding initial application, adhesion, water infiltration, long-term maintenance and upkeep, and ease of removal; along with examples of where paint has been successfully used on exterior granite facades. They requested photo-realistic visualizations of the building for each paint option and existing conditions from pedestrian level locations, including 17th Street, NW, F Street, NW, and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, and a mock-up of the proposed granite painting on-site to reflect the actual site and lighting conditions.

NCPC approved  preliminary and final site and building plans submitted by the Washington Headquarters Services for a Commercial Vehicle Inspection Facility and a restroom facility at the 9/11 Memorial on the Pentagon’s campus in Arlington, Virginia. These permanent facilities would replace existing temporary ones. Commissioners appreciated that the applicant updated design features based on previous Commission input. They recommended that the future master plan and projects incorporate measures to improve the pedestrian experience between the planned offsite Pentagon 9/11 Memorial Visitor Education Center and the memorial, as well as provide additional wayfinding signage to direct visitors to the memorial’s entrance.

Commission actions and related materials are available online. 

The Commission approved three items on the Consent Calendar (no presentations were made). Unless otherwise noted, the projects are in Washington, DC.
1.      Final master plan amendment for the Southeast Federal Center - Revised Master Plan 4th Amendment, Southeast Federal Center, The Yards. (MP03)
2.      Comments to the Mayor of the District of Columbia for the District of Columbia Capital Improvements Plan FY 2027-2032. (0348)
3.      Final site and building plans for the James J. Rowley Training Center Defense Training Facility, 9200 Powder Mill Road, Laurel, Maryland. (8635)

The Executive Director approved two items under authority delegated by the Commission. Unless otherwise noted, the projects are in Washington, DC.
1.      Preliminary site and building plans for the Building 76 Museum Support Center Renovation, 805 Kidder Breese Street, SE. (8775)|
2.      Preliminary and final site and building plans for the Joint Base Anacostia Bolling New Equipment Installation, 20 MacDill Boulevard, SE. (8752)