A handout illustration made available on May 3, 2017 by the Obama Foundation shows a view of the Obama Presidential Center. The view looking north shows the Museum, Forum and Library. The Museum, the tallest structure on site.

Obama Foundation / EPA</s>(CHICAGO) — Former President Barack Obama unveiled plans for his future presidential center Wednesday, painting a picture of a buzzing hub for youth and community programs on the South Side of Chicago where he raised his family and launched his political career.

Obama fielded questions from residents at a forum near the site, delving into nitty gritty details of traffic patterns, green space and job creation, while avoiding any mention of his successor in the White House.

"What we want this to be is the world premiere institution for training young people and leadership to make a difference in their communities, in their countries and in the world," he told the friendly crowd that included Mayor Rahm Emanuel, his one-time chief of staff.

It was Obama's second public appearance since he left office, providing another glimpse of post-presidential life. Last week, he participated in a University of Chicago panel with students, saying young people are the key to solving the nation's most pressing problems and he hoped his center would play a role in it.

The Obama Presidential Center will feature three structures, including a tower-like museum and tree-lined walkways. The Obama Foundation displayed drawings and a miniature model of the center, which will also include a public plaza and classrooms.

Obama said construction of the center — up to 225,000 square feet (20,900 square meters) overall — would take about four years, but programming would begin this year. He said he and former first lady Michelle Obama, who also attended, would personally donate $2 million to summer job efforts in the city. He says Chicago has a lot to offer, but most people outside the city only see headlines about the violence.

"We don't want to wait for a building," he said. "This is about reaching out right now."

He said there would be future community meetings to discuss other aspects of the center in Jackson Park, and hoped it could be used to spurn economic activity to the area, which includes several downtrodden neighborhoods. Obama projected the center would create thousands of jobs, including temporary construction jobs and up to 300 permanent positions.

The Obama Foundation has said much of the exhibition design work for the museum will be performed by minority- and women-owned businesses. New York-based Ralph Appelbaum Associates will head a team of several firms and individuals with expertise in media, lighting and acoustics in designing exhibits. The project is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but officials did not discuss cost on Wednesday.

Obama said he envisioned recording studios where musicians could help young people work on music and space for movie directors could take on community storytelling. The center will also have exhibits with campaign memorabilia and personal artifacts.

"Let's face it, we want to see Michelle's dresses," he joked.

The event was held at the South Shore Cultural Center, a park facility where the Obamas held their wedding reception 25 years ago. Obama also noted that he lived not far from the site and his daughters were born at a nearby hospital.

He also squashed any notion that the library was ever going to be elsewhere. Multiple locations in three states — Illinois, New York and Hawaii — had initially pitched proposals.

"The best things that have happened to me in my life, happened in this community," he said. "Although we had a formal bidding process to determine where the presidential library was going to be, the fact of the matter was it had to be right here on the South Side of Chicago."</s>Former President Barack Obama unveiled plans for his future presidential library and museum on the south side of Chicago where he raised his family and launched his political career.

The designs show a complex of modern buildings, with a library, museum and event center, plus a community garden, a children's play area and possibly an athletic field.

"What we want this to be is the world-premiere institution for training young people and leadership to make a difference in their communities, in their countries and in the world," he told the crowd that included Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, his one-time chief of staff.

Flanked by drawings and renderings, Obama also announced that he and former first lady Michelle Obama will be donating $2 million to fund a Chicago summer jobs program.

The museum, the tallest of the three buildings, will hold exhibition space, public spaces, offices and education and meeting rooms, according to the Obama Foundation. The forum and library buildings are intended to be used for study and foundation programming. Obama said his foundation, which is overseeing the project, is also looking into the possibility of locating a Chicago Public Library branch on the site.

Obama said he envisioned recording studios where musicians could help young people work on music, and space for movie directors who could take on community storytelling. The center will also have exhibits with campaign memorabilia and personal artifacts.

"Let's face it, we want to see Michelle's dresses," the former president joked.

Obama also squashed any notion that the library was ever going to be elsewhere. Multiple locations in three states — Illinois, New York and Hawaii — had initially pitched proposals.

"The best things that have happened to me in my life happened in this community," he said. "Although we had a formal bidding process to determine where the presidential library was going to be, the fact of the matter was it had to be right here on the south side of Chicago."</s>Barack Obama envisions his future presidential center as an institution where the next generation of young leaders can be trained, the former president said on Wednesday.

Obama was speaking at a community forum in Chicago where renderings of the center and library were unveiled.



Obama said he estimated the center will be finished in four years, but said programming would start this year. He announced that he and former first lady Michelle Obama would personally donate $2m to summer job efforts in Chicago.

The former president received a friendly hometown reception from the crowd, which included Mayor Rahm Emanuel, his one-time chief of staff.

Obama did not mention his successor, instead focusing on details about the center, including potential exhibits and traffic patterns.

Obama said he hoped the center would become a hub of activity on Chicago’s South Side, where Obama started his political career.

Drawings and a miniature model of the planned center, forum and library in a Lake Michigan park show three buildings, including a tower-like museum, and tree-lined walk ways.

The Obama Foundation said the total center could span up to 225,000 square feet and green space would be preserved.



The project is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.</s>CHICAGO, May 3 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled design plans for his Chicago presidential center, which he hopes will serve as a training site for future generations of leaders.

The Obama Presidential Center will be built in the 500-acre (200-hectare) Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side. The park was first developed as the site of the 1893 World's Fair.

The development will feature three buildings - a museum, forum and library - forming a campus around a plaza. The museum, the tallest of the three structures, will include public areas, offices and classrooms in addition to exhibition space, the Obama Foundation said in a statement.

"What we want this to be is the world's premier institution for training young people and leadership to make a difference in their communities, in their countries and in the world. That is our goal," Obama said at the design unveiling in Chicago.

Obama has slowly started to return to the public eye since leaving office in January. Last month he moderated an event at the University of Chicago during his first major appearance since leaving the White House.

The project will take around four years to complete, Obama said, but educational programs will begin this year. Obama said Wednesday he would donate $2 million to a summer jobs programs in the community.

Obama grew up in Hawaii and went to college in New York and California, but owns a home and spent most of his pre-White House political career in Chicago, starting as a community activist before becoming an Illinois state senator and then a U.S. senator.

Chicago beat out proposals by New York City and Hawaii to be the home of the library.

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects Partners of New York and Interactive Design Architects of Chicago were named last year as the firms that will lead the design of the center.

Residents of Chicago's South Side, which includes many poor and crime-ridden neighborhoods, hope jobs and investment come with the library. Some small businesses are concerned they may be forced out of the area if rental prices go up.

The center could be a transformational project for the community, Obama said. (Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin; Editing by Leslie Adler)</s>Barack Obama has unveiled the vision for his presidential library in Chicago, a modern, $500 million project he hopes will be a training ground for future leaders housed in the city that launched his career. Speaking on the city’s south side near the center’s future site, the former President Obama revealed drawings and a 3-D rendering of a three-structure complex with a public plaza and surrounding park land near the shores of Lake Michigan.

The site is slated to be upwards of 225,000 square feet in size and house a library, museum and forum — as well as classrooms, meeting spaces, a community garden and a recreational area. The goal was to “create an institution that will train the next generation of leadership,” Obama told a packed audience.

“So that they can take up the torch and lead the process of change in the future.” Private donations will fund the institution and construction could take four years, though Obama said programming could begin as soon as this year. To jumpstart that effort the former president announced he and his wife had donated $2 million to a Chicago summer jobs program with the aim of revitalising communities that will neighbour his center’s campus.

He noted the midwestern city’s reputation for violence –particularly in the downtrodden neighborhoods surrounding the library’s site — saying he hoped the future institution could provide a revitalising space for locals. Obama, formerly a community organiser in Chicago, said the centre could also help redevelop struggling neighbourhoods by encouraging new business and tourism.

The complex will be the latest addition to a national network of presidential libraries — but one the first African American president hopes will be less of a monument than a forward-looking, living institution. “We don’t want to see some big building that’s dead,” Obama said.

“What we wanted was something that was alive, and that was a hub for activity for the community, for the city, and for the country,” he said. He highlighted plans for barbecue grills, a spot for winter sledding and a lookout point featuring sweeping views of the lake and skyline. He also playfully emphasised the importance of an area for basketball, a sport for which his love is well-known.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now</s>CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will visit Chicago for a community meeting to discuss their planned library and museum.

The Obama Foundation announced Monday the Obamas will host a round table discussion Wednesday to “update the community” on the progress of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side. The Obamas are also expected to hear from community members on their ideas for the library.

Chicago is where Obama got his start after graduating from Harvard Law School, working first as a community organizer in Chicago’s South Side before jumping into politics, representing the South Side in the Illinois State Senate. Obama would later spring to the U.S. Senate after winning election statewide in Illinois.

Obama also announced his presidential bid in 2007 in Chicago — where he also claimed victory against Republican nominee John McCain in 2008.

New York-based Ralph Appelbaum Associates will head a team of several firms and individuals with expertise in media, lighting and acoustics in designing exhibits.

The foundation has said almost half of the exhibition design work for the museum will be performed by minority- and women-owned businesses.

The project is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.</s>Former US President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled design plans for his Chicago presidential centre, which he hopes will serve as a training site for future generations of leaders.

The Obama Presidential Center will be built in the 500-acre (200-hectare) Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side. The park was first developed as the site of the 1893 World's Fair.

The development will feature three buildings - a museum, forum and library - forming a campus around a plaza. The museum, the tallest of the three structures, will include public areas, offices and classrooms in addition to exhibition space, the Obama Foundation said in a statement.</s>CHICAGO -- Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will visit Chicago for a community meeting to discuss their planned library and museum.

The Obamas will host a round table discussion Wednesday to "update the community" on the progress of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side. The Obamas are also expected to hear from community members on their ideas for the library.

New York-based Ralph Appelbaum Associates will head a team of several firms and individuals with expertise in media, lighting and acoustics in designing exhibits.

The Obama Foundation has said almost half of the exhibition design work for the museum will be performed by minority- and women-owned businesses.

The project is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.</s>By 2021, Chicago will be the home of the 44th presidential library, built in honor of former US President Barack Obama. Called the Obama Presidential Center, it will feature a library, museum, auditorium, restaurant, and public park.

The $500 million center will be designed by local firm Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. The company won the commission out of 140 entries in 2016.

On May 3, former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama unveiled the design, including a 3D model (pictured below), at the South Shore Cultural Center in Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, community leaders, and hundreds of Chicago residents attended.

The Obama Presidential Center will be built on Chicago’s South Side. Located 10 miles from downtown, it will be the first presidential library to be built in an urban environment.

The site, which could stretch up to 225,000 square feet, will center around the museum. That will be the project's tallest building, according to The Chicago Tribune. The museum will have an exhibition space and meeting rooms, while the library will include a collection of documents, emails, photos, and artifacts from Obama's time in office.

The Obama Foundation, the nonprofit leading the center's development, told the Tribune it will be "a working center for civic engagement and a place to inspire people and communities to create change."
Plans for a Chicago-based presidential library in honour of the former U.S. President Obama are revealed.