It is customarily that a library is built for a former president to house all the items collected during his time in office. President Barack Obama returned to Chicago for the first time last week since he left office on January 20, 2017 to focus on his library. He held meetings with community leaders to discuss plans and to get their input about having the library in the community.
Library location
The location of Obama's presidential library has been finalized to be in Chicago's Jackson Park. This will be the first time a Presidential Center will be in the heart of an urban community.
The site is located near Lake Michigan, which is just a short walk from the University of Chicago where President Obama once taught.
Reuters reported that other places suggested for the library were New York City where Obama went to college and Hawaii where he was born. However, Chicago won. He lived there before he moved his family to Washington, DC during his first term in 2009. The Obamas wanted it to be in Chicago so they could give back to the people of Chicago who have given us so much to them.
Library and museum
The cost is three times more than what the George W. Bush Center in Dallas, Texas cost to be built in 2013. That's because the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago will have both a presidential library and a museum that will pay tributes to both President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama who also contributed a great deal to the country.
According to several reports the library and museum will cost about $1.5 billion which is not available yet. Besides, the federal government requires that the former president must have more than enough money for the annual operating costs. Therefore, the 44th president will need some help in raising the cash flow to get the library and museum built.
Architects for the project
It was announced last month that a husband-and-wife team, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien won from among 140 others to oversee the project. They have determined that the buildings themselves will cost close to $300 million which is more than the first estimate of $200 million.
The former president did not do much fundraising for his library while he was in office. However, he is about to begin fundraising to preserve his legacy.
