(warm music)
- [Obama] We were welcomed to build this Presidential Center
in other places, including other parts of Chicago,
but Jackson Park, where this is gonna be located,
is in the South Side of Chicago,
it is a mile from where Michelle was born and raised,
where our children were delivered.
It is where I lived until I moved to the White House.
I think it's gonna be a terrific focal point
from which we can excite people's imaginations
and engage young people.
And it will have an economic impact
that will be important and powerful,
because part of what institution building does
is it then brings along with it
money being invested in communities
that too often are bypassed when it comes to development.
- For the Obamas, both of who consider this their home,
it's like coming back home
with this incredible economic engine
that is going to not only add beauty to this site,
but have a ripple effect throughout the community,
providing jobs and tourism and opportunities for business.
We want everyone to say the Obama Center is a part of us.
- I think one of the most important things
that we've heard from community members
is that they want jobs,
and the investments that we are making
will generate long-term, good paying jobs
for members of the community.
The South and the West Sides are communities
that have historically been disinvested in.
So the investments that we're making
have a number of intended effects
to really improve the quality of life
of the surrounding areas of the Obama Presidential Center,
whether it's the infrastructure investment,
the parks, the supports that we're providing
to both renters and homeowners, improving transportation.
We're gonna see a real rejuvenation and transformation
of the area immediately surrounding
the Obama Presidential Center.
- We realized with the announcement
of the Obama Presidential Center,
we needed to get back with the community
and have a series of discussions on what to do in this park,
how to invest, where to invest.
And over a period of 10 months,
we had just under a dozen community meetings.
Quite a few amenities came
from our South Lakefront Framework Plan.
They wanted access to the lakefront
and they wanted improved ways to use the park.
And I think we made a strong commitment
that we're gonna touch every part of this park
as we move forward on the South Side.
The neighborhood clamored for a dog park.
There's gonna be a dog park over near Hayes Park.
New ball diamonds, new improved ball diamonds.
Those are coming.
Last but not least is certainly a new track and field.
We're building a new one
and it's gonna come this summer in 2021.
- The transportation plans
for Jackson Park and the communities
in and around the new Obama Presidential Center
are the kind that will leave a legacy of improvements
whether you bike, walk,
drive your car, take public transit.
These improvements will both restore
and reunify Jackson Park
to the aspiration of its original design in 1871
by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.
These mobility improvements in and around Jackson Park
will ensure that we're able to get to where you need to go,
even with increased future traffic demands.
That six-lane portion of Cornell Drive
that cuts through the park will be restored as parkland,
seamlessly connecting throughout the park
and to the lakefront and to the balance
of the South Side neighborhoods and institutions.
At CDOT, we are incredibly excited
to get to that finish line with this project
because the finish line is really a start of a new day.
- We're gonna get visitors from all across the world
who are gonna come here simply because
the Obama Presidential Center is here.
It gives us an opportunity to really showcase
the beauty of our South Side communities
and provide an economic boost to that community
at a time when they need it most.
- The City of Chicago has started preparing Jackson Park,
putting in place the infrastructure
that will serve as the foundation
for the Obama Presidential Center.
I'm looking forward to grabbing a hard hat and a shovel
and officially breaking ground in Jackson Park in the fall.
Until then, I hope you'll join us
on the road to groundbreaking,
a celebration of our hometown of Chicago,
and everyone who is helping us make this dream a reality.
Head over to obama.org to join in.