Source: Obama Chooses Chicago Park for Presidential Library

U.S. President Barack Obama has selected Jackson Park on the South Side of Chicago as the site of his presidential library, a person familiar with the decision said Wednesday.

The Barack Obama Foundation decided to build the library near the University of Chicago, where Obama once taught. It will be a boon to the city’s South Side, providing jobs to communities that have long struggled with gang violence and high unemployment.

A formal announcement is expected next week.

The newest addition to the U.S. network of presidential libraries will serve as a repository for historical items, records and papers pertaining to Obama’s two terms as president after he leaves office in January.

The Obamas last year picked Chicago as the host city for their library, instead of Honolulu in Hawaii or New York City, which also were bidding for it.

The Obamas announced last month that the library would be designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, a New York architectural firm that designed the David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago.

The center is expected to be completed by 2021.