The Obama administration is fueling immigration fears among residents of Woodlawn, Chicago
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Residents of Chicago who live in rented houses near the site built in honor of former President Barack Obama are reported to have come together to respond to the controversial project.
Residents of a longtime Woodlawn complex slated to fight potential displacement and rent hikes say they are driven by pressure from development around the Obama Presidential Center.
Tenants at Chaney Braggs Apartments rallied earlier this month outside their building near 65th Street and Stony Island Avenue, saying selling the property could improve the lives of families who have lived there for decades, FOX 32 Chicago reported.
A California-based investor wants to buy the building and may renovate or demolish it, according to residents. Tenants say they were given $2,000 per household to move out, a proposal they say falls far short of what families will need to relocate in a rapidly changing environment.
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Residents living in low-income housing fearing displacement and being recognized for housing are the latest criticism of the Obama Presidential Center. (Fox Flight Group; Getty)
Most residents currently pay between $700 and $800 per month in rent. Some say they have lived in the building for 30 or 40 years and fear they won’t be able to find similar housing in Woodlawn if the rent goes up or the building is developed.
In response, residents formed a tenant union to stave off the threat of eviction and preserve the building’s affordability. They said the union first came together after the previous landlord left the property nearly two years ago, forcing the tenants to organize maintenance and basic needs.
Now, residents say the same network is being used to address a bigger challenge: staying in their homes as investments linked to the Obama Presidential Center reshape the neighborhood.
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A before-and-after aerial photo shows the trajectory of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, including the removal of Cornell Drive and construction along Stony Island Avenue. (Fox Stories)
The building, tenants say, was once owned by a non-profit organization committed to affordable housing and community stability. But with those protections gone, residents say they are increasingly vulnerable to market pressures that have intensified as construction on the presidential complex moves closer.
No sale has been finalized, and the identity of the prospective buyer had not been publicly confirmed as of Thursday. Residents say they have contacted city and state officials for help but have yet to receive a response.
The standoff underscores broader concerns in Woodlawn, where the Obama Presidential Center has brought promises of jobs and investment as well as fears of layoffs and layoffs. For tenants at Chaney Braggs Apartments, that concern has become immediate and personal.
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Residents say they plan to continue planning as they wait for more information on the future of the building, a possible rent increase and whether city officials will intervene.
The Obama Presidential Center, set to open on Chicago’s South Side on June 18, is a 19.3-acre campus in Jackson Park with a 225-foot museum tower, a library and a public square.
Obama, America’s first black president, is celebrating the grand opening of the over-budget building – called an eyesore by critics – on the eve of June.
June 10th marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed the enslaved black Americans there that they were free – more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
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The holiday is celebrated as a celebration of Black freedom, resilience and community, and in recent years has taken on broader national significance as a memorial to freedom and a reminder of the long struggle for racial justice in the United States.
Obama once described the facility as a “gift” to Chicago. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
A Fox News Digital investigation in February found that taxpayers are absorbing hundreds of millions of dollars in public infrastructure costs related to the project. Those costs include road resurfacing, stormwater systems and relocation of utilities needed to support the 19.3-acre campus in Jackson Park. No government agency has provided a full accounting of the total public spending despite months of questions and Freedom of Information Act requests.
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Initial projections put public infrastructure spending at about $350 million to be shared by the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois. Critics now say those obligations have grown into a huge public burden as the project has faced delays and spiraling costs.
Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
