Overview
- The New York Times reported that the National Park Service awarded Clark Construction a no-bid contract to repair two Lafayette Park fountains that later climbed to $17.4 million after initial approval.
- Officials cited an “urgency” exception to skip open bidding, a tool usually reserved for war or disaster response, and the award did not appear in federal spending databases within the usual three-day window.
- A 2022 government estimate put the fountain work at about $3.3 million, yet the Park Service first agreed to pay $11.9 million and then increased the scope, with an outside estimator saying inflation was counted twice.
- Practitioners who have worked on the Lafayette Park features described the fountains as straightforward to refurbish, raising questions about how the added millions were justified for a low-complexity job.
- Clark is also building the privately funded $400 million White House ballroom, and a separate federal judge’s order has halted further physical work on that project as the court underscores the president’s role as steward of the White House.