President Barack Obama’s promise to build and revitalize blighted neighborhoods was a centerpiece of his first term in the White House.

But now, nearly nine years after he left the Oval Office, he might be destroying one critical area in the city he called home, the Daily Mail can reveal. 

His $850 million presidential center in Chicago – due to open in April – has come under fire from residents, community leaders and even onetime supporters who now warn that the massive 19.3-acre facility in Jackson Park is gentrifying the neighborhood, increasing rent and forcing families out. 

Alderwoman Jeanette Taylor, who represents much of the area where the center is being built, told the Daily Mail she is a fan of Obama and believes in the project but has fought aspects of it to protect her constituents. Her efforts have had mixed results.

The article continues:

‘We’re going to see small landlords having to raise the rent,’ warned Taylor. ‘Their property taxes are going up and we’re going to see development that is not inclusive to our community.’

Allison Davis of Aquinnah Investment Trust, who has close ties with Obama, plans to build a 26-story, 250-room luxury hotel just down the street from the center.

And Taylor said ‘$300,000 and $400,000 homes that nobody can afford’ are already popping up around the area on Chicago’s poverty-stricken South Side.

Taylor is not the only critic.

‘It looks like this big piece of rock that just landed here out of nowhere in what used to be a really nice landscape of trees and flowers,’ Ken Woodard, 39, an attorney and father of six who grew up in the area told Daily Mail. ‘It’s a monstrosity.

‘It’s over budget, it’s taking way too long to finish and it’s going to drive up prices and bring headaches and problems for everyone who lives here.
‘It feels like a washing away of the neighborhood and culture that used to be here.’

The article includes a picture of the library. I guess I just don’t understand modern architecture. According to the article, the library will eventually have an athletic center, gardens, a playground, a restaurant, a sledding hill, and a branch of the Chicago Public Library. I guess that’s nice, but I don’t think I would appreciate the amenities if I could no longer afford to live in the neighborhood.