Former President Barack Obama has confirmed the long-awaited Obama Presidential Center will officially open in the city’s historic Jackson Park in June 2026.
Speaking at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, Obama brought clarity to a project more than a decade in the making. “We’re going to open in June so that y’all don’t have to bring your coats up,” he told the audience, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
First announced in 2015, the center was originally expected to open in 2021. A series of federal reviews, legal challenges, and other delays pushed groundbreaking to 2021, making this nearly 11-year journey a long-awaited moment for Chicagoans and presidential history enthusiasts alike.
Spanning 20 acres, the $800 million center is shaping up to be the most expensive presidential center in U.S. history. Its campus will feature a 225-foot museum tower, an auditorium, a branch of the Chicago Public Library, lush gardens, parkland, and an athletic facility. But the project is about more than the building. Obama envisions it as a dynamic public space. “We want to create a campus, a place where the public gathers for a range of things that puts them face-to-face with each other and gets them to meet and be in dialogue and conversation and exposed to new ideas with each other,” he said.
The center has not been without controversy. Some preservationists objected to building on Jackson Park, a site listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and lawsuits briefly sought to block construction. Residents also worried about rising property taxes and potential displacement. In response, the Chicago City Council passed a housing ordinance earlier this year aimed at minimizing such impacts.
Beyond its physical footprint, the Obama Presidential Center is designed to serve as a hub for leadership and civic engagement, particularly for young adults. Obama highlighted programs targeting people in their mid-20s to mid-30s who are already making positive change but may lack broader support networks. “We’ll create a virtual classroom for civic education, because my bet is that all the issues, problems that we have right now will be solved if old folks get out of the way,” he said.
The center’s opening is already giving Chicagoans a taste of what’s to come. On Dec. 9, Obama surprised a group of schoolchildren at the Bessie Coleman branch of the Chicago Public Library in Woodlawn while touring the nearly finished center. Wearing a red Santa hat, he joined two dozen Burke Elementary School students, who were in the middle of story time and coloring activities.
“Everybody seems to be working hard,” Obama said, according to a pool report. “I thought we were gonna have a little Christmas party, and everybody’s doing their homework. What’s happening?”
He read “Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman’s Dreams Took Flight” by Karyn Parsons, introducing the students to words like “unfurl,” “triumphant,” and “segregation,” while explaining concepts about flying a plane. Students also received winter hats, gloves, and a book to take home. The former president greeted library staff and community members before departing, highlighting the center’s focus on education, community, and engagement.
From its long road to completion to its ambitious vision for the future, the center promises more than a museum. It’s a space where history meets community.
