By Damenica Ellis
The Obama Foundation’s goal in building the Obama Presidential Center is to bring people together, however the construction may create an additional divide in a city already disconnected.
“Right now, there’s a bit of a disparity in Chicago between resources that are going to the North Side and to the South Side of Chicago,” said Kim Patterson, senior events associate at the Obama Foundation. “We’re hoping to be a catalyst to bridge that disconnect. We are so excited to bring this world-class amenity to the South Side of Chicago.”
The Obama Presidential Center is currently being sustainably built on around 19 acres of land in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side. It will house public programming and includes a museum, forum, Chicago Public Library branch, athletic center, children’s playground, restaurant, sledding hill, the Eleanor Roosevelt fruit and vegetable garden, the Obamas’ private offices and the John Lewis plaza.
The building will also offer public access to a broadcast room, training rooms, a baking space, art space and other gathering spaces. The only ticketed space is the four-level museum that tells the story of the Obamas’ life in the White House.
Jackson Park Watch, a nonprofit organization, has been concerned about this construction since the Obama Foundation decided to build its presidential center in Jackson Park rather than the two alternative locations: Washington Park and the South Shore Cultural Center.
The co-president and founder of Jackson Park Watch, Brenda Nelms, said one of her main concerns is the lack of transparency the Obama Foundation has maintained. She expressed her apprehension about what this large campus will contain and the impact it will have on the park.
“We still have Jackson Park. How are these compatible entities? How will it function?” Nelms said.
Nelms said Jackson Park Watch was founded because “the Chicago Park District has a long history, which continues, of giving less attention to South Side parks than North Side parks, and also of using park land for what was perceived as private purposes, misusing park land.” She added that outcry from community members wasn’t enough to change the location of the center.
Voicing another concern of the organization, Jackson Park Watch co-president Jack Spicer asked, “Is this center for the community or is it for tourists?
“I think if it had been a white ex-president, a lot more people would have spoken out about it,” he added.
In response to concerns about whether the center is for the surrounding neighborhoods of South Shore, Woodlawn and Washington Park, Patterson said, “We want them to fully immerse themselves into the campus there.”
The Obama Foundation is allocating 50% of total construction spending to diverse businesses: 35% are minority-owned businesses, 10% women-owned businesses and 5% are businesses owned by veterans, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ community. In addition, 50% of total on-site construction will be performed by Chicago residents, and 35% will be residents of the South and West sides of Chicago. A total of 7% of total construction spending will be done with local businesses.
Patterson adds that she hopes the Obama Presidential Center helps set the standard for future diversity initiatives in the construction industry.
“We hope that we can be an example for future projects of what diversity goals you can set, what workforce goals you can set,” Patterson said. “And we can show folks how this can be done and the larger impact that you can have.”
Quinton McNair, founder of StruggleBeardBakery who was born and raised in Chicago, supports the center.
“I think it’s amazing,” McNair said. “We have so many monuments and buildings and schools and stuff dedicated to almost every president. Somebody as iconic as the first Black president, and then him being a staple of the South Side of Chicago, having his library in the South Side of Chicago, it is all inspiring.
“Especially for young Black men, young Black women, to be like, ‘Okay, this guy from the same place that I came from, grew up and became president, and now I get to drive by this library that’s as big as the Museum of Science.’”
Rachel Williams, community organizer, policy analyst and midwife assistant, who was born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, is more critical of the center. “There needs to be a community benefits agreement,” Williams said. “It needs to be a statement about saying, ‘Are we going to stabilize the folks who have built these communities?’ …We have to have a conversation about, ‘Yeah, you may be saying that now, but is it going to be a reality once it’s finished?”
The communities around Jackson Park won’t have to wait much longer to find out. Home Court, the athletic center that includes an NBA-size basketball court and seating for 1,000 people, will open in fall 2025. The rest of the campus will open spring 2026.
Despite opposing views from some local residents, the center’s goal is to benefit “our neighbors directly around the center,” Patterson said. “But also we want to have a global impact as well.”
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