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Obama Center Groundbreaking Pushed Back to 2019

Further delays in the federal review process have pushed back the start of construction on the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park until 2019, Obama Foundation officials confirmed Friday. The project requires signoff from the Feds due to the park’s historic nature, and because it will entail closing and expanding major streets.

“We have a sense of urgency about this project (and) when we started, we wanted the public to know we would break ground as soon as possible,” the Obama Foundation’s Michael Strautmanis told the Chicago Tribune. “But, we also knew there were some things that were not in our control. We insist on going through the process with integrity and without rushing.”

The $500-million project is now expected to break ground sometime next year. Obama Foundation officials didn’t disclose a specific target date, nor did they say whether they still expect to complete construction in 2021.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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