After 5 years, Obamas to break ground on Presidential Center

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy After five years of legal battles, gentrification concerns and a federal review, Barack and Michelle Obama were expected to attend a celebratory groundbreaking Tuesday on their legacy project in a lakefront Chicago park. Construction on the site along Lake Michigan near the Obama family home and where the former president started his political career on Chicago's South Side officially began last month. “With your help, we can make this center a catalyst for economic opportunity, a new world-class destination on the South Side and a platform for young people to drive change,” Obama said in a video announcement ahead of the groundbreaking. “When it came time to plan the Obama Presidential Center, we wanted to give something back to the place that gave us so much,” Michelle Obama said in a video announcement.