Watch Video Announcement President Obama Library Center

The Barack Obama Foundation Announces Presidential Library
May 12, 2015 on South Side of Chicago
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Gary Comer Youth Center, Chicago, 60619

After a year of deliberation and proposals from community groups, the Barack Obama Foundation announced on May 12 that it will bring the Obama Presidential Library to the South Side of Chicago.

At a press conferencce at the Gary Comer Youth Center, 7200 South Ingleside Avenue, community leaders, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and members of the Obama Foundation made the annoucement that the South Side will be the future home of the Obama Center.

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"This whole thing is about the community" said Martin Nesbitt, President of the Obama Foundation. In the press announcement, he also told the audience that the library will be 'independent of the University of Chicago' and will be designed and developed by the Obama Foundation.

The Barack Obama Foundation plans to collaborate with community organizations and universities, including the University of Illinois at Chicago, Columbia University in New York, and the state of Hawaii, who submitted proposals during the year-long request.

The presidential library is estimated to be completed by 2020 or 2021.

In a recorded video posted on the Obama Foundation YouTube channel, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama talked about how important the South Side is to them.

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"All the strands of my life came together and I really became a man when I moved to Chicago. That’s where I was able to apply that early idealism to try to work in communities in public service. That’s where I met my wife. That’s where my children were born. And the people there, the community, the lessons that I learned. They are all based right in this few square miles where we will be able to now give something back and bring the world back home after this incredible journey," said President Obama.

"Every value, every memory, every important relationship to me exists in Chicago. I consider myself a South Sider," said Michelle Obama.

Explained in a prepared statement from the University of Chicago, The Obama Presidential Center will include the presidential library, museum, and office and activity space for the Obama Foundation. According to the statement, the foundation has narrowed its choices to two possible sites - one in Jackson Park and one in the Washington Park area.

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"This is a great day for the city of Chicago and the South Side,” said Mayor Emanuel. “We have a deep connection to the First Family, and we are thrilled that they have decided to bring their legacy home through the Obama Presidential Center. It will bring tremendous opportunities to the South Side that will benefit the entire city."

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The Barack Obama Foundation and The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will work together in developing the Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum as part of a larger Obama Presidential Center. The Obama Foundation will raise all of the funds needed for construction of the project; neither federal funds nor university funds will be used in the construction of the facilities.

In a 2014 report commissioned by the University of Chicago, the economic implications for the South Side will bring 300 construction jobs and spur the creation of 1,900 permanent new jobs in retail, dining, and other businesses, with $220 million in annual impact for Chicago.

For more information about the Foundation and the future Obama Presidential Library, visit http://www.barackobamafoundation.org/ or follow @ObamaFoundation on Twitter.