WASHINGTON – Three U.S. cities that President Barack Obama once called home are trying to outdo one another as the competition to host his future presidential library comes to a close.
Next week, a handful of Obama’s oldest friends and associates will start judging proposals from two universities in Chicago and one each in New York and Honolulu, and by the end of March, Obama and the first lady will announce the winner. Knowing the future library will be a prominent tourist attraction and historical site, each community is offering Obama prime real estate, financial backing and grand visions for what his library could look like.
The Barack Obama Foundation has requested specifics on a host of items, including local zoning and transportation, architectural design and management plans. But the foundation’s board, which includes Obama’s sister and his former campaign manager, has made clear that a university’s ability to help pay for the project will also be a factor.
All three cities’ mayors are actively encouraging Obama to pick their communities. But the proposals, due next week, are confidential, and the competitors have been wary of tipping their hand by disclosing all the details.
Likewise, Obama has been careful to say no city has an advantage. But Chicago, where Obama rose to prominence and had his children, is believed to have an inside track.
A look at what each school is proposing:
University of Chicago
The private school on Chicago’s South Side is proposing to build in one of the poor neighborhoods bordering its campus in Hyde Park, where Obama’s home is located. At least three proposed sites include Chicago park land, the park district’s board chairman has said.
University of Illinois at Chicago
The public university has proposed two sites on its Chicago campus, plus a third in North Lawndale, a heavily black neighborhood on the city’s West side. That site would be in partnership with a community organization and would include a 23-acre park. The school’s head librarian said a dozen university officials and volunteers worked on the proposal.
Columbia University
The Ivy League school where Obama attended college has said almost nothing about its proposal, and the university declined to answer questions. But in a statement, the university said it wants to put the library in Manhattanville, also known as West Harlem, where Columbia is currently expanding with a satellite campus.
People familiar with Columbia’s proposal, who weren’t authorized to comment publicly and demanded anonymity, said Columbia is also considering hosting just a part of the broader library project.
University of Hawaii
The showpiece of Honolulu’s proposal to build the library in Obama’s birthplace is a 7-acre plot of undeveloped, oceanfront property in a gritty corner of Honolulu called Kakaako, not far from downtown and the hopping Waikiki tourist zone. Visitors would have panoramic views stretching from Diamond Head, Honolulu’s iconic volcanic crater, to the island’s lush, fog-tipped mountains.
