The U.S. ambassador to Belgium negotiated a diplomatic coup on the home front, freeing himself from a handful of historic preservation requirements for a West Palm Beach house he's expanding.
City commissioners voted unanimously Sept. 14 to overrule the city’s Historic Preservation Board and waive three requirements it imposed on U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White’s plans to renovate and expand a 1940 home in the historic El Cid neighborhood.
White and his husband, Bryan Eure, bought the one-story, 2,900-square-foot house on Dyer Road in January for $2.1 million. They are planning to renovate it and build a second-story addition.
But the Historic Preservation Board had concerns about the aesthetics of the couple’s plans for a second-story balconet,
and its members took issue with the designs of a gable and a triplet of sash windows, arguing that they clashed with the home’s “Minimal Traditional” architectural style.
The board approved the overall plans for the second-floor addition but nixed the balconet and gable and said the triplet of sash windows must be replaced with a single window.
But an attorney for the powerhouse law firm Gunster appealed the decision to the city commission on White’s and Eure’s behalf, arguing that previous changes made to the plans had been sufficient.
City planners agreed. Anthony Mendez, the city’s historic preservation planner, sided with White’s attorney, saying adjustments made after an initial meeting in February were sufficient to allay concerns about the mixing of architectural styles.
“Staff finds that the applicants’ revisions since that February meeting are more consistent with the Minimal Traditional architectural style,” he told commissioners. “It improves the overall scale and composition.”
Commissioners proved receptive to those entreaties, approving the diplomat’s request to overrule the Historic Preservation Board. The decision allows the second-floor balconet to be built and lets the second-floor addition keep the gable and three sash windows.
White, a mega-fundraiser for President Donald Trump, was appointed by Trump to the ambassadorship and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in October 2025. He told The Palm Beach Post that he and Eure “love West Palm Beach so much” and that they were excited to move forward with the renovation.
“We are so grateful to the board and to Mayor James and our awesome neighbors for being so kind (to) support our wonderful architect and us with our plans to beautify our home,” he said via text message.
Andrew Marra is a reporter for The Palm Beach Post. Reach him at amarra@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump’s Belgium ambassador negotiates West Palm housing win | Exclusive
