Obama Library Site Selection Might Not Be Ready In First Half Of The Year
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The man in charge of shaping the Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum said Tuesday that initial planning might take longer than many expected.
Obama Foundation board chairman Marty Nesbitt acknowledged some people expected planners to choose whether the library would be located in Washington Park or Jackson Park in fairly short order after the University of Chicago's bid was chosen in May.
However, Nesbitt told the City Club of Chicago on Tuesday the decision might not come until the first half of next year.
What's the delay?
"It's not delayed. I mean, we had the idea that there might have been work completed early that would have made the decision happen sooner and easier, but the fact is they're two really good sites; not a bad choice. So you've got to keep digging deeper and deeper to figure out a rationale to choose one over the other, and we haven't gotten to that point yet," he said.
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The president's friend said the goal will be to have a center that benefits all of the South Side, and the city as a whole.
The University of Chicago beat out bids from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Columbia University in New York, and The University of Hawaii in Honolulu.
Officials have said the library center could open as soon as 2020. It is expected to cost more than $500 million, funded by private donations to the Obama Foundation.
