AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (KOAA) — President Donald Trump called for an investigation into the Air Force Academy chapel renovation on Thursday, highlighting the long timeline and high cost.
According to our news partners at The Gazette, contract award in August showed JE Dunn had received an additional $88 million for the remodel, bringing the total cost up to $335 million. The renovation is now expected to be finished in 2028.
The chapel was closed in 2019 for the renovation that was estimated to cost $158 million.
Trump called the chapel a construction disaster from the time it was built in 1962. He noted it has leaked since it was built.
“This mess should be investigated. Very unfair to the Cadets — A COMPLETE ARCHITECTURAL CATASTROPHE!” he posted on social media.
The chapel leaked after a cost-cutting measure during construction, Duane Boyle, the project’s architect, previously told The Gazette.
Rather than putting in the barrier, crews put in 32 miles of caulking that immediately failed. Then they put in other stop-gap measures, including storm windows over the stained glass that blocked a third to half the light.
“Nobody’s ever seen the brilliance of the stained glass as originally intended,” Boyle said previously.
It’s also the site of the largest asbestos abatement in the state, Boyle said. The removal filled 147 dumpsters and cost $62 million, The Gazette reported previously.
The chapel is considered an iconic structure for Colorado Springs and was designated as National Historic Landmark in 2004.
The Gazette's Mary Shinn contributed to this web story.
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