Not too late to choose new location for Obama Presidential Center

Recently, the University of Chicago has begun demolishing their building located at 5608 S. Stony Island Ave. The university had used the building for workshops and facilities department for about the last 50 years.

I’m told they have no plans to build on this site. A vacant lot is going in, apparently. This is the ideal location for the Obama Presidential Center. A museum campus would be achieved, and the park would be expanded.

Consider the potential for air rights over the Metra railroad tracks to the west. The building of a pedestrian walkway, like downtown. The parking garage in front of the museum could be shared, eliminating that cost ($200 million) from the OPC.

Consider that it is possible to have an OPC that does not take up space in a public park. There are other locations, such as the site of the former Plaisance Hotel, that lie vacant. An entire block of 60th Street, in this case. The Plaisance was taken down in urban renewal, and only part of that site was built on. At present, it’s a parking lot and two vacant lots.

We do want a presidential center, but the park is not the best location for this. This has provoked lawsuits, federal reviews — all of which would disappear were the OPC to relocate to this, the better site.

It is time for the city, and the U. of C., to recognize they made a mistake with this park-based plan. They underestimated the outcry, the need to protect public parks and how strongly we citizens feel about each.

Ross Petersen, Hyde Park