[INTERNEWSCAST] 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 departing from the Oval Office, he may be undermining a significant part of the city he once called home, the Daily Mail can disclose.
His $850 million presidential center in Chicago, set to open in April, has faced criticism from residents, community leaders, and even former supporters who now express concerns that the vast 19.3-acre development in Jackson Park is leading to neighborhood gentrification, raising rent, and displacing families.
| Photo at the link of the barren landscape with a bit of hardscaping and the unfinished library building to one side where previously a city park flourished. |
‘We’re going to see rents go higher and we’re going to see families displaced,’ she told the Daily Mail.
‘Every time large development comes to communities, they displace the very people they say they want to improve it for,’ the Democrat added.
‘This was no different, and we’re witnessing the reality of the situation. The city of Chicago should have established a Community Benefits Agreement before construction began, but they did not.’
A CBA is a legally binding agreement that specifies what a developer will offer for a project, including affordable housing, local employment, and environmental safeguards.
‘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.’
Kyana Butler, 30, who lives in the area, is a member of the Southside Together group, one of at least three major activist groups that has lobbied for better protections for the area from the Obama Foundation.
‘Rents are going up fast. A two-bedroom apartment that used to rent for $800 a month has already jumped to $1,800.
‘Property taxes are going up so much that the owner of my building is saying she might just walk away.
‘I don’t blame President Obama for all of this, but the people on his team may not have the best intentions for people in this area.’