Rooted in Chicago and designed by you

We’re designing the Obama Presidential Center to be a destination for visitors and residents alike – an engaging place for families to enjoy themselves, be inspired, and learn tools to make a positive change in their communities.

You’ve shared that you want safe and welcoming paths and entrances. Community spaces where you can gather with your neighbors for cookouts, musical performances, and farmers’ markets. Room for community gardens and wildlife observation opportunities.

And, we’re listening. The Center and surrounding area will be a space for everyone — and the majority of it will be completely free and open.

Here are some of the features we’re considering building into the Obama Presidential Center based on what we’ve heard from Chicagoans like you — and we’ll continue to ask for and incorporate your feedback every step of the way:

Thousands of new local jobs.
Hundreds of thousands of new visitors.
A renewed Jackson Park.

Beyond providing Chicagoans across the city with the opportunity to come together as citizens, the Obama Presidential Center will provide real economic benefits to the South Side. And we’re committed to making sure those jobs are available to everyone.

What does that look like in practice? For example, all Construction Manager candidates must commit to awarding 50% or more of their contracts to diverse suppliers. And no less than 35% of all construction contracts will be awarded to minority business enterprise firms. We’re working with our Construction Manager candidates to ensure they are training and retaining a deep pipeline of workers from underrepresented communities like Woodlawn, Washington Park, and South Shore.

The Center is estimated to support nearly 5,000 new, local jobs during its construction, and more than 2,500 permanent jobs once the Center opens. The Center will attract up to 760,000 annual visitors — and in its first 10 years, is expected to have a total economic impact of $3.1 billion. We want to work with you to ensure the hundreds of thousands of visitors enjoy local businesses and that impact is felt across the South Side.

Read about the Center’s economic impact.

The Obama Presidential Center is Committed to Hiring a Diverse Workforce

Over the course of his eight years in office, President Obama built the most diverse White House and Administration in history, with more women and people of color in top policy positions than ever before. He wants to do the same thing with the Obama Presidential Center. One of our goals for this project is to bring more diversity to the construction industry — and in so doing, give South Side residents opportunities for both short-term jobs and long-term professions.

Learn more about how we’re prioritizing diversity in our local hiring.