After delays, construction on Obama Center begins in Chicago

During a Chicago appearance in June, Obama said he hoped the centre would help promote the city's South Side and bring Chicagoans together. Photo: AFP

Five years after Barack Obama chose Chicago as the site for his legacy project, construction officially began this week on the Obama Presidential Center.

Roadway closures were set up and a bulldozer pulled up to start digging up part of the 7.7ha lakefront site in Jackson Park, which is near the Obama family home and the University of Chicago where the former president once taught law. The Obama Foundation, which announced preliminary work in April, said a formal groundbreaking ceremony would take place in the fall.