Realtor.com/Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
The much-awaited Obama Presidential Center, a space designed to inspire and connect people, has stirred up quite a bit of controversy on Chicago‘s South Side. Construction of the center started in 2021 and is expected to wrap up later this year, but residents and activists are already speculating how the ambitious project will affect locals.
“There is always a concern when a development of this magnitude enters an area,” Michael Opyd, a Chicago-based broker, told Realtor.com®. “Since its announcement, I have had several clients ask about how it will impact the market. Many of the people I have spoken with are taking a wait-and-see approach to determine the impact of the center.”
Eight months into 2025, the Obama Foundation is finally gearing up to welcome visitors to the 19-acre South Side Chicago campus. “As we inch closer toward opening, construction crews are working tirelessly to build a new home for hope,” the website reads.
The foundation has stated that it will raise all funds needed for construction of the project, meaning money from taxpayers or collaborator University of Chicago will not be used. Once the center is finished, the foundation will give the National Archives and Records Administration an endowment covering 60% of the facility’s total cost. The foundation will cover and manage the rest of the center on its own.
Lakeside Alliance, the construction company overseeing the project, reported that it would cost approximately $500 million to build the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago’s Jackson Park. Since then, many organizations have spoken out about how the project could negatively impact Chicago’s longtime residents.
Community concerns
“Looking at how other developments pushed out Black people in the last 10 to 15 years, it was a big concern,” says Allegra Fischer, an attorney for the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee. “We wanted to make sure this was done in a way that doesn’t displace residents.”
Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu says “rising property values from the center’s development could accelerate displacement in historically lower-cost neighborhoods, pricing out long-term residents and weakening community stability.
“Without robust affordability protections, long-standing communities may be replaced by higher-income households, reshaping the area’s housing landscape.”
The Obama Community Benefits Agreement Coalition—a group working to ensure the development benefits the local community—has called on the center to create jobs for people in communities around the project; protect housing for working families, those with low incomes, and homeowners; support, create Black businesses; and strengthen neighborhood schools, as per its website.
In June 2024, former President Barack Obama visited the site, which broke ground in 2016, and greeted workers.
“The sacrifices you have all made, I could not be more grateful,” Obama said. “You’ve got young people learning, have an opportunity that wouldn’t have always had. That’s not just because of me. That’s because of you.”
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Not everyone is grateful. Ken Woodward, an attorney based in Chicago, told Fox News that the center “looks like this big piece of rock that just landed here out of nowhere in what used to be a really nice landscape of trees and flowers.
“It’s over budget, it’s taking way too long to finish and it’s going to drive up prices and bring headaches and problems for everyone who lives here. It feels like a washing away of the neighborhood and culture that used to be here,” he added, calling the structure a “monstrosity.”
Currently, the median household income in the city of Chicago is $72,428, and the median home list price is $377,000. Xu says without targeted affordability protections, the development could deepen Chicago’s existing housing affordability crisis.
While there has been a concerted effort to protect residents who live around the Obama Presidential Center, real estate agents and economists point to potential benefits, too.
“I have several clients who live in the area. All of them believe that once completed, it will have a positive impact on the area and community. The area surrounding the library is dense with not a lot of space to develop, which would entice more developers to enter the market than normal,” says Opyd.
The project could even be the catalyst for a housing boom, drawing in tourism, jobs, and more amenities.
“The Obama Presidential Center is poised to increase housing demand in nearby neighborhoods by bringing jobs, tourism, and new amenities. This added demand is likely to drive home values and prices higher, particularly in historically more affordable areas, raising both investment interest and concerns over housing affordability,” Xu explained.