Chicago Residents Blast $500 Million Obama Foundation Center For Causing Rent To Skyrocket
April 4 2023, Published 6:00 p.m. ET
Chicago residents blasted the Obama Foundation's $500 million presidential center after the landmark caused rents to skyrocket in the area, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The legacy of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama brought mixed feelings to Chicagoans. While many residents viewed the new addition to their city with pride, others were outraged after rent prices in the surrounding area surged and priced longtime residents out of their homes.
Situated in Chicago's South Side — where Michelle is from and the Obamas raised their daughters, Sasha and Malia — the nonprofit's new building was constructed to serve not only as a symbol of hope and perseverance but to provide value to locals.
While the center was meant to provide job opportunities and boost tourism, residents have yet to feel any positive effect under the crushing weight of rising rent prices.
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When the Obama Foundation announced plans for the building in 2015, the immediate impact of the venture reflected in housing costs. After its initial announcement, rent jumped by 43%. Fast-forward to the current day and rent has seen a whopping 130% increase due to the new build.
Tahiti Hamer, 42, lived in the South Side in 2021 when the city broke ground for the presidential center. The single mom of three tried to negotiate her raised rent with her landlord, but the lifelong resident of the neighborhood was told it was "changing."
"She said, ‘Oh, you know, the area is changing. My taxes have gone up,'" Hamer said of her landlord's reaction. "So, that’s it, then. I’m a working mother who can’t afford to live in my own community that I’ve lived in for 42 years."
The South Side resident was forced to move to a less-expensive suburban area, but before she did so, she saw a developer buy a house across the street from her own — who marked the value up 10 times its worth.
"I’m afraid if I ever want to move back into the city, it’s just going to be that much harder to get back there," Hamer said on being priced out of her home.
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While the center remained under construction, stories like Hamer became more frequent as Chicagoans blamed the Obama Foundation project for bringing drastic change to an area it vowed to preserve and uplift.
Real estate listing considered the neighborhood the "next hot area," despite the project being nowhere near completion.
Additionally, newly listed properties for sale and lease in the "hot area" listed the presidential center as a selling point and walkable feature for prospective residents.
