Trump’s golf course renovation could cost up to $49 million, documents show
By Sunlen Serfaty, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump’s proposal to build a championship golf course in Washington, DC, could cost up to $49 million dollars, according to a document reviewed by CNN.
The National Park Service outlined in the document that it will start soliciting bids to remake the public golf course in East Potomac Park into an 18-hole professional course in January 2027.
The preliminary scope of the cost is estimated to be between $20 and $49 million.
It is one of numerous public construction projects around the nation’s capital that Trump has sought put his stamp on — and which have drawn intense public backlash and a multitude of lawsuits.
The president said over the summer he wants to break ground on the golf course this month, even as legal drama over his attempts to rename the Kennedy Center and build a triumphal arch in the city continues.
Separately, the Department of Interior has just awarded a contract for nearly $400,000 to Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., a company headquartered in Massachusetts, for “e-design” services for the course.
Rep. Jared Huffman of California, a Democrat, revealed the existence of the contract during a House committee hearing on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the Interior Department told CNN: “The full course design is yet to be finalized, so any type of cost estimate speculation over an advance notice of solicitation is premature and irresponsible, especially from a Member of Congress.”
Trump, an avid golfer, first publicly proposed the idea of taking over and expanding the municipal golf course in May.
After touring it, he had complained that the course was “dilapidated, worn out, and very dangerous and outdated.” He said he would build “one of the Greatest Golf Courses anywhere in the World,” and that it would remain open to the public.
A lawsuit seeking to stop Trump’s proposed changes to the course is making its way through the courts, but critics had warned that proper approvals and legal battles have hardly handicapped the president before. In the past few weeks, bulldozers have been seen on the grounds, though the Interior Department contended that they were for maintenance of the course.
In response to the contract that was awarded, on Wednesday Democratic lawmakers wrote to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to request documents providing more details about plans for the golf course by September 30.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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