It's Official: Obamas Select Jackson Park For Presidential Library
CHICAGO (CBS) -- President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have officially announced they have chosen historic Jackson Park as the site for the Obama Presidential Center.
Sources confirmed the site selection on Wednesday, and the formal announcement was made by the Barack Obama Foundation on Friday.
"Michelle and I are thrilled that the Obama Presidential Center will be developed in the heart of Chicago's South Side, a community we call home and that means the world to us. With a center in Jackson Park, not only will we be able to affect local change, but we can attract the world to this historic neighborhood, whose rich cultural heritage dates back to the 1893 World's Fair. We are proud that the center will help spur development in an urban area and we can't wait to forge new ways to give back to the people of Chicago who have given us so much," the president said in a statement provided by the Obama Foundation.
Officials with the Obama Foundation, the University of Chicago, and others will discuss the plans for the library on Wednesday at the Museum of Science and Industry.
"For the first time, a presidential center will be in the heart of an urban community. The President and First Lady are proud that the Obama Foundation is developing the Obama Presidential Center in the South Side, a community that they call home," said Marty Nesbitt, chair of the Obama Foundation. "The President and First Lady believe that locating the Presidential Center at Jackson Park will have the greatest long-term impact on the combined communities. With its aesthetics, iconic location, historical relevance from the World's Fair, we believe Jackson Park will attract visitors on a national and global level that will bring significant long-term benefits to the South Side."
The University of Chicago -- where the president once taught constitutional law -- won the bid for the library last year, and had proposed putting the center in either Jackson Park or Washington Park. While Washington Park is closer to the Obamas' home in Kenwood, the logistics for the Jackson Park site likely will be less complicated.
According to a map provided by the University of Chicago early in its bid for the presidential library and museum, the Jackson Park site would be located just east of Stony Island Avenue and just west of the Jackson Park lagoon, across the street from Hyde Park Academy High School. That section of Jackson Park currently is home to a pair of baseball diamonds and the Jackson Park Hockey Fields.
The foundation already has chosen renowned New York City architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien to design the Obama library, with Chicago-based Interactive Design Architects as a partner on the project.
No designs for the project have been released.
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.
The Obama Foundation's full statement on the Jackson Park selection is below:
Today, the Obama Foundation announced that Jackson Park will be the site of the Obama Presidential Center. The center will be located in the heart of the South Side, which has been the home to the First Family for many years.
Officials from the Obama Foundation, the City of Chicago, the University of Chicago, along with community leaders and local elected officials will discuss the announcement at a press conference at the Museum of Science and Industry on Wednesday, August 3, 2016 (details to follow).
Both Jackson Park and Washington Park are exceptional sites in the same historic South Side community that includes vibrant institutions, like the DuSable Museum, the University of Chicago and Museum of Science and Industry, strong faith communities, successful business leaders and community-based organizations. Not only are the two parks just a few miles apart, but they were originally conceived of by Frederick Law Olmsted as one park—South Park—joined by the Midway. They are in a part of the city that will benefit from the development of the Center.
"For the first time, a presidential center will be in the heart of an urban community. The President and First Lady are proud that the Obama Foundation is developing the Obama Presidential Center in the South Side, a community that they call home," said Marty Nesbitt, chair of the Obama Foundation. "The President and First Lady believe that locating the Presidential Center at Jackson Park will have the greatest long-term impact on the combined communities. With its aesthetics, iconic location, historical relevance from the World's Fair, we believe Jackson Park will attract visitors on a national and global level that will bring significant long-term benefits to the South Side."
"On behalf of the Woodlawn Community, its stakeholders and residents, we are thrilled to welcome and participate with the Obama Presidential Center as it comes to the South Side and Jackson Park. We are committed to working with the Foundation and the Mayor's Office to ensure economic growth and full participation of South Side community stakeholders and residents," said Dr. Byron T. Brazier, Pastor of the Apostolic Church of God.
"In just a few short years, we look forward to welcoming the President, First Lady and the First Family back to the community they call home, the South Side, to unveil the Presidential Center. Until then, we look forward to remaining engaged with our community, city and non-profit partners throughout the programming and development stages and ensuring the development spurred by the Obama Presidential Center is enjoyed across the whole South Side," said Pastor Torrey L. Barrett, Founder and Executive Director of K.L.E.O. Community Family Life Center.
"The Obama Presidential Center will bring tremendous cultural, economic and educational benefits not just to Jackson Park, but to Washington Park, Woodlawn and the entire City of Chicago for generations to come," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "I want to again thank President Obama and the First Lady for choosing Chicago, and we look forward to working with residents, neighborhood leaders, elected officials, community groups and the Foundation to maximize the economic development that this project will bring to the South Side."
"Bringing the Obama Presidential Center to the South Side will provide an array of new opportunities for our young people, and it will be a catalyst for economic development, cultural enrichment and community programming. The Obama Foundation's selection of a site is another exciting step for a project that stands to benefit all of our neighboring communities and the Chicago region," said Robert Zimmer, President of the University of Chicago.
The Obama Foundation put out an open call for proposals for where to locate the Obama Presidential Center and the Foundation reviewed and chose from the proposals that were submitted. The Foundation reviewed those proposals, the President and First Lady selected their top choice, and the Board approved it.
In June, the Obama Foundation announced that Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners and Interactive Design Architects will lead the design phase of the Obama Presidential Center. Programming for the Obama Presidential Center will begin in 2017.
