Obama unveils plans for presidential center in Chicago

Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michele on Wednesday unveiled design plans for a 200,000-square-foot campus on Chicago’s South Side that will house the Obama Presidential Center.

The center will sit near a lagoon that runs into Lake Michigan in the Jackson Park neighborhood and will feature three buildings – a museum, a forum and a library – as well as outdoor gathering spaces.

The Obama Foundation said that the center, located near Chicago’s historically African-American Woodlawn neighborhood, will revitalize the Jackson Park neighborhood by attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors and creating new jobs on the South Side.

#Breaking: Architect’s drawing of Obama Presidential Library. pic.twitter.com/WnPyjVA7Bo

— Derrick Blakley (@BlakleyCBS2) May 3, 2017

Rendering of Obama Presidential Center. pic.twitter.com/Lmw3eJrUHz

— Tina Sfondeles (@TinaSfon) May 3, 2017

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“More than a building or museum, the Obama Presidential Center will be a living, working center for engagement — an ongoing project for the community and world to shape what it means to be an active citizen in the 21st century,” the foundation said in a press release.

“The Center will include a state of the art museum, classrooms, labs, and outdoor spaces, and it will conduct programs that will give visitors not just memories, but real tools to create change in their own communities. It will be based on the South Side of Chicago but, via partnerships, programs, and digital initiatives, have projects all over the city, the country, and the world,” the release added.

President Obama is expected to use the center as a platform to work on issues such as criminal justice reform and education for underprivileged children. The project is expected to cost $500 million and should be completed in 2021.