Construction Manager Selected for Obama Center

By Roxana Baiceanu

The Obama Presidential Center, Chicago

The Obama Foundation is one step closer to breaking ground on the Obama Presidential Center. The organization has selected Lakeside Alliance, a joint venture made up of five development firms, to manage the construction work. The companies are Turner Construction Co. and the Presidential Partners consortium, which includes Powers & Sons Construction, UJAMAA Construction, Brown & Momen and Safeway Construction. All firms are African-American owned.

“Lakeside Alliance stood out, first, because they’re excellent builders. But what impressed us most was their passionate and thoughtful commitment to infuse diversity and inclusion into every aspect of this project at levels far beyond what has been done in Chicago for projects of this size and complexity,” said Roark Frankel, director of planning and construction with the Obama Foundation, in a prepared statement.

Complex portfolio                        

Lakeside Alliance members’ portfolio includes projects such as the Modern Wing and Nichols Bridgeway at the Art Institute of Chicago as well as the University of Chicago’s Reva & David Logan Center for the Arts and the Booth School of Business Charles M. Harper Center.

The companies in the joint venture have also worked for the University of Illinois at Chicago, City Colleges of Chicago, the Illinois Institute of Technology and Purdue University.

Earlier last year, the Obama Foundation revealed the conceptual vision and site map of the upcoming Obama Presidential Center. The property will span approximately 21 acres in South Side’s Jackson Park and encompass three buildings: the Museum, the Forum and the Library. Total construction costs were estimated at $1.5 billion. The design will be completed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects and Interactive Design Architects.

Image courtesy of the Obama Foundation