Chicago residents are growing increasingly concerned about the damage the Obama Presidential Center will have on their community, as longtime South Side families are being displaced by soaring rent prices and unsustainable living costs which they blame on the former president's project.

The Obama Presidential Center hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking in September 2021, revealing a massive 19-acre plot that is designed to host a public library branch, playground, community centers and a museum that aims to revitalize the South Side of Chicago. It is being financed mostly through private donations.

But the ongoing $500 million project, which remains under construction, has reignited fears among longtime residents that the center will gentrify the community and that the positive "economic impact" promised by the former president will instead raise property values and make housing costs unaffordable

An article published Monday by the Washington Post, titled "Chicago neighbors say Obama center is raising rents, forcing them out," examined the center's impact on neighboring communities, noting that median home prices have more than doubled since the center was first unveiled.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/chicago-south-side-residents-say-they-re-being-displaced-by-obama-center-causing-harm-to-black-families/ar-AA19rczZ?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=855ab969ab1f4140a3b3261978a98847&ei=18