On Tuesday, Barack Obama broke ground on his highly anticipated presidential center on the South Side of Chicago. 

In an hour-long ceremony at the 19-acre site in Jackson Park, Obama, joined by his wife and former First Lady, Michelle Obama, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, shared their remarks celebrating the long-awaited project before scooping up dirt with commemorative shovels. 

“This day has been a long time coming,” said Mr. Obama. “We had originally hoped to hold a bigger, festive event, but the pandemic had other plans, so we’re keeping this small for now.”

Departing from similar projects recognizing former presidents, the center has been envisioned to host lectures, trainings, cultural events, concerts, and conversations, instead of acting as a presidential library. 

“We want this center to be more than a static museum or a source of archival research,” the former president continued. “It won’t just be a collection of campaign memorabilia or Michelle’s ball gowns, although everybody will come see those. It won’t just be an exercise in nostalgia or looking backwards. We want to look forward.”

In a live virtual video titled Bringing Hope Home: Obama Presidential Center Groundbreaking Ceremony, Tod Williams of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, the firm behind the center’s design, said: “I think that President Obama, when we first met, I think he said he wanted it to be exactly the opposite of all presidential libraries.”

“It’s much less about making a building and much more about sort of making a whole place,” Billie Tsien added. 

The $700 million center is expected to be completed in 2025.

The live-streamed event can be viewed below.