Panels Signal Approval Of Kennedy Center Expansion

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Kennedy Center's expansion plan is receiving early signs of approval from two federal agencies that oversee architecture and design in Washington.

The National Capital Planning Commission provided favorable comments Thursday on the Kennedy Center's concept design for a 65,000-square-foot expansion.

The center's first major expansion since its 1971 opening would add rehearsal and education space, a memorial garden and a floating pavilion on the Potomac River. Most of the $100 million expansion would be built underground.

The planning commission said it supports the idea of connecting the Kennedy Center to the Potomac waterfront. The panel asked for additional development of the landscape design and analysis of traffic impacts.

In January, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved the design concept and asked for further information on the landscape design.

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