CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- President Trump's first visit to Chicago since taking office has come and gone. Now it's Former President Barak Obama's turn to visit for the 2019 Obama Foundation Summit.
The former president, along with the Former First Lady Michelle Obama, are expected to be in town Tuesday for the 2019 Obama Foundation Summit to discuss the vision for the Obama Presidential Center.
Ahead of the visit, new renderings and a model of the refined design for the Obama Presidential Center were posted on the website, showing a more sculptural architecture and more windows. The Obama Presidential Center will occupy 19.3 acres within the 550-acre Jackson Park and will include an outdoor plaza at the entrance and a space for live performances and community festivals.
The Obama Center will also house a branch of the Chicago Public Library, complete with an interactive digital media space and rooftop garden.
In terms of the landscaping, the Obama Center hopes to solve the challenges of the condition of the site by adding a one-acre wetland area, a Women's Garden, more trees, and soil harvesting. In addition, the Obama Center released details about the Children's Play Area that will take up two acres and feature an upper and lower level.
"The campus will add to the vitality of Jackson Park, bringing new gardens; a larger playground; and scenic paths for an early morning jog, bike ride, or an afternoon stroll. And it will do all that while creating jobs and driving economic opportunity here in Chicago and enriching the landscape of the South Side that President and Mrs. Obama have called home for so long," the Foundation said on the website.
The latest renderings are based on response to feedback on how the residents on the South Side and the city of Chicago want to experience the Obama Center.
“We’ve spent the past few years talking with the community and meeting with neighbors and stakeholders to incorporate their input on how the residents of the South Side and the city of Chicago want to experience the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park,” said David Simas, CEO of the Obama Foundation, in a statement. “In response to the feedback we received, we’re presenting updates that create even more ways for the community to enjoy what will become an important and memorable gathering place.”