SkyscraperPage Forum

SkyscraperPage Forum (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/index.php)
-   General Development (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=86)
-   -   CHICAGO | Obama Presidential Library (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=208617)

r18tdi May 28, 2020 4:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skyguy_7 (Post 8930210)
The article makes quite a few damn good points. It would make for much better optics, and make much more sense, if the library were to take up a few vacant, decrepit lots nearby or adjacent to the park; there are plenty of them.

These are hardly new points; numerous groups have voiced them time and time again. And good "optics" and "sense" have no place in presidential politics--certainly not anymore.

Mr Downtown Jun 26, 2020 2:46 AM

The Illinois State Historic Preservation Office has finally sent a Section 106 review letter, and it calls for “additional design review,” specifically requesting that mitigation considerations include shifting the proposed location of the Obama Presidential Center south in Jackson Park. Such a move would allow the connection between Jackson Park and Midway Plaisance to remain intact, the letter stated.

Full story on WTTW website

ardecila Jun 26, 2020 3:12 AM

So, they want the Women's Garden to remain inaccessible in a tangle of busy roads. Got it. Preservationists seem to love being pedantic about the aesthetics of things and miss the real problem - which is that Olmsted's tranquil pleasure drives have become stressful, deadly drag strips that seriously impair the core function of the park, to promote health, rest and relaxation.

It doesn't seem that difficult to shift the whole complex slightly south, though. The south end is kind of an arbitrary cutoff at the south line of 62nd St, but there's a lot more room to the south before you hit 63rd.

the urban politician Jun 26, 2020 8:18 PM

I feel like I'll be a grandparent by the time this thing gets built...

CrazyCres Jun 26, 2020 8:27 PM

Just build it dammit

ardecila Jul 21, 2020 9:18 PM

Block Club reporting that Lightfoot has struck a deal with Ald. Taylor and other community groups worried about housing impacts in Woodlawn.

That effectively takes care of most of the opposition from the social-justice side of things, now the preservationists are the only ones left with their court case. The Lightfoot administration seems to be wrapping things up on the bureaucratic end as well, with the FHWA and other required reviews almost complete.

Then there's the issue of Obama Foundation fundraising, they only have a fraction of the money raised to build the OPC... maybe they're hoping people will open their checkbooks once the community opposition is taken care of?

Randomguy34 Jul 21, 2020 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila (Post 8988109)
Block Club reporting that Lightfoot has struck a deal with Ald. Taylor and other community groups worried about housing impacts in Woodlawn.

That effectively takes care of most of the opposition from the social-justice side of things, now the preservationists are the only ones left with their court case. The Lightfoot administration seems to be wrapping things up on the bureaucratic end as well, with the FHWA and other required reviews almost complete.

Then there's the issue of Obama Foundation fundraising, they only have a fraction of the money raised to build the OPC... maybe they're hoping people will open their checkbooks once the community opposition is taken care of?

Actually, it looks like the foundation raised well over the $500 million they need for construction. That might be the main reason why annual fundraising has dropped, since they've raised all, or at least most of, their construction costs

CrazyCres Jul 21, 2020 11:32 PM

Almost there to construction :cheers:

pullmanman Aug 26, 2020 6:01 PM

Obama Presidential Center timeline moves forward after lawsuit dismissed by federal a
 
CHICAGO TRIBUNE | AUG 25, 2020

Quote:

A lawsuit over the planned Obama Presidential Center’s campus in Jackson Park has stalled after a federal appeals court panel ruled the plaintiffs did not suffer actual harm and that much of their grievances were not within the court’s jurisdiction.

The 7th Circuit for the U.S. Court of Appeals issued the ruling on Friday, more than two years after community group Protect Our Parks Inc. filed suit alleging the Chicago Park District and the city of Chicago improperly transferred public parkland to the Obama Foundation for private use.
Hopefully this project can finally get moving now!

sentinel Aug 26, 2020 8:16 PM

^GOOD.

“The plaintiffs are nothing more than ‘concerned bystanders,’ and concerned bystanders are not entitled to press their claims in federal court,” the ruling said.

marothisu Sep 5, 2020 1:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sentinel (Post 9023180)
^GOOD.

“The plaintiffs are nothing more than ‘concerned bystanders,’ and concerned bystanders are not entitled to press their claims in federal court,” the ruling said.

Owned. I didn't think anything different would happen here to be honest. Any other blockers to start construction, technically? There's been a little uptick of late of new construction permits in Woodlawn. Probably unrelated but still good to see.

Also from the article
Quote:

The panel also agreed with the district court’s dismissal of the argument that the transfer of public park property violated the Fifth and 14th amendments. It ruled the plaintiffs failed to prove they have a private property interest in Jackson Park that would render its sale to the Obama Foundation as unconstitutional.

Finally, the panel affirmed the lower courts’ denial of the plaintiffs’ challenge to appeal its lawsuit based on the National Park Service and Federal Highway Administration review that Jackson Park alterations would have an “adverse effect” on its listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Again, the federal appeals and district courts both lack jurisdiction to resolve a public trust claim, according to the ruling.

Herbert Caplan, founder of Protect Our Parks, said in a phone interview that the group plans to file a motion for rehearing. Should that falter, Caplan said he remains hopeful of a long-shot chance at consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court.

blacktrojan3921 Dec 21, 2020 7:29 AM

https://www.chicagotribune.com/polit...7y4-story.html

https://outline.com/YDWe8R

Quote:

Long-running federal review into Obama center concludes, groundbreaking tentatively set for 2021

A federal review into the historic effects of former President Barack Obama’s proposed presidential center in Jackson Park officially concluded Thursday afternoon, further dashing hopes of opposition groups troubled by the impact of future construction on the storied South Side park.

Officials finalized a memorandum of agreement that caps off the presidential center’s three-year Section 106 federal review, the longest out of several triggered by the Obama Foundation’s decision to locate the future complex on historic property. Other reviews into mitigating environmental impacts as well as protecting public parkland remain ongoing, although the foundation announced earlier this month that groundbreaking for the center is slated to begin in 2021.

“The completion of this step of the federal review is the result of years of hard work by Mayor Lightfoot, community leaders, environmentalists and park enthusiasts,” a foundation representative wrote in a statement. “We celebrate this milestone with all those who have taken the time out of their busy schedules to help us reimagine what is possible in Jackson Park with the OPC.”

The $500 million Obama Presidential Center is expected to be a sprawling campus that will house the Obama Foundation offices and include spaces for large gatherings, an athletic center and a public library branch. In addition, the campus will have outdoor recreation areas including a sledding hill and walking paths.

But a process known as Section 106 was triggered in December 2017 because the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act requires federal agencies to sign off on changes that may affect historic properties such as Jackson Park. The Federal Highway Administration worked with the city to consider roadway changes and potential mitigations in order to allow it to approve upcoming transportation project funding.

When the first draft was rolled out this summer, the finalized MOA was met with condemnation from some local groups in support of preserving Jackson Park as is. But dozens of other parties concurred with the final report.

The nonprofit Jackson Park Watch, a dogged adversary of the presidential center’s proposed site, suggested a number of changes that were ignored, although the group was not required to sign off on it. Its president, Brenda Nelms, said earlier this week her lack of say had “set a very bad precedent” for undercutting community input.

“It was really a travesty … that ignored the realities of what the impact on the historic resources of the park, how they would be affected by the current plans for the Obama center,” Nelms said.

Under the MOA, the city will be required the rehab the English Stone Comfort Station as well as the Statue of the Republic in the park. The eastern chunk of Midway Plaisance will see a new “play area” designed by the city, which also must work up materials to educate the community about the significance of Jackson Park.

The presidential center’s location on park land was at the heart of another fight, this time in the courts. A lawsuit over the planned center’s campus in Jackson Park was effectively killed in August after a federal appeals court panel ruled the plaintiffs did not suffer actual harm and that much of their grievances were not within the court’s jurisdiction. But its chief litigant is vowing to appeal up to the Supreme Court.

r18tdi Dec 21, 2020 9:34 PM

Jackson Park is looking more and more like a dump these days, the comfort station is barely standing. I hope the center will breathe some new life into the park. Are the roadway revisions expected to take out many trees and other mature landscaping?

ardecila Dec 21, 2020 10:57 PM

^ The information you want is here (PDF link).

The total number of trees in Jackson Park is unknown, but a little more than half of the park has been surveyed in recent years and contains just under 5000 trees. For the sake of argument, assume 9000 trees in the park total. Out of that, the Obama center and all the roadway projects are projected to remove 789 trees, or around 9% of the trees in the park.

All removed trees will be replaced at a 1:1 ratio. Stony Island will also be widened into a boulevard north of 65th, which will include new trees on the east and west side parkways and in the median that are outside of the park boundaries but functionally part of the same urban forest. There are also new trees being added in the Midway between Stony and the Metra tracks which will offset the loss as well.

r18tdi Dec 22, 2020 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila (Post 9139684)
^ The information you want is here (PDF link).

TY! :cheers:

LouisVanDerWright Jan 14, 2021 3:53 AM

I just realized what this design is...

It's a Lime Kiln:

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FAnivk7nR...m_park_001.jpg
https://wisconsin-explorer.blogspot....afton.html?m=1

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/c...g?format=1000w

Skyguy_7 Jan 14, 2021 2:17 PM

^ Nothing could possibly be more of a lime kiln than the St Regis' crown lime kiln :shrug: :runaway:

Barrelfish Jan 14, 2021 3:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skyguy_7 (Post 9159329)
^ Nothing could possibly be more of a lime kiln than the St Regis' crown lime kiln :shrug: :runaway:

https://imgur.com/a/f68rWwl

:runaway:

SIGSEGV Feb 3, 2021 9:05 PM

It's happening!

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/nonp...und-later-year

sentinel Feb 4, 2021 12:48 AM

Hallelujah it's about fucking time


All times are GMT. The time now is 11:35 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.