Construction of the Obama Presidential Center is set to continue at Chicago’s Jackson Park following a ruling by Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. The project, designed by Tod Williams & Billie Tsien Architects in collaboration with Interactive Design Architects (IDEA), was subjected to a legal challenge which argued that the project would negatively impact the park’s historic setting.

Opponents of the center filed an emergency motion asking for a writ of injunction to be issued to block any additional groundbreaking of the center. One of the applicants, a nonprofit organization called Protect Our Parks, opposed the project on its current site, arguing the scheme should be built “on Chicago’s South Side outside of a dedicated public park.” A U.S. District Court Judge previously dismissed a suit by the organization in 2019.

The motion cited concerns over the cutting down of trees in Jackson Park which are critical to migratory birds, as well as noise and air pollution issues. The placement of the trees in question was designed by major landscape architect Fredrick Law Olmsted in 1871. The motion was nonetheless refused by Justice Coney Barrett, clearing the way for construction to continue.

Earlier this year, the Obama Presidential Center concluded a four-year-long federal review process, allowing construction work to begin on-site. The project, whose construction is estimated to cost $500 million, has attracted strong views since its unveiling in 2017. At the beginning of 2018, more than 100 University of Chicago faculty members penned a letter opposing the center on economic and preservation grounds.

In October 2019, new images of the scheme were unveiled, presenting a more transparent, animated complex than previous editions, which had generated criticism from the local community, landscape preservationists, and design critics.

Earlier this year, the Obama Foundation released a statement reaffirming their support for the project. "The project serves as a catalyst for long-overdue investment in and around historic Jackson Park — creating a new destination to move visitors from hope to action, breathing new life into the park, and delivering amenities and economic benefits to the community the Obamas called home," they said.