Former President Barack Obama's namesake presidential center in Chicago, Illinois, is slated to open its doors to the public next spring, well behind schedule and over budget.

Initially scheduled to be opened this fall at an original cost estimate of around $300 million, the construction budget alone has ballooned to more than twice that amount, approximately $615 million, and the debut was pushed back to early next year, according to the Chicago Tribune.

That figure doesn't include another $100+ million more in anticipated expenses related to the grand opening, nor does it account for how displeased some residents and community leaders are with the former Democratic president's building.

Obama's center is over budget and behind schedule

The Tribune reported that the Obama Presidential Center's construction costs were initially pegged at $300 million, then were bumped up to $500 million in 2017, followed by another boost of the budget to $700 million when construction actually began in 2021.

According to a recent financial report, construction costs through the end of 2024 had already risen to around $615 million, which doesn't include another roughly $130 million in costs -- $90 million to ready the center's amenities for the public and $40 million in first-year operating expenses -- that will bring the total all-in budget to somewhere between $830-850 million.

Also pushing up expenses are the compensation packages for the Obama Foundation's and Presidential Center's top executives, all close friends and associates of the former president, which combined ran to more than $6.1 million in 2024, roughly a million more than the previous year's total.

Despite the cost overruns and legal delays that have pushed the planned grand opening back by about half a year, fundraising hasn't been much of an issue, as the Obama Foundation's assets have swelled to more than $1.1 billion, thanks in part to more than $195 million raised just last year.

Once completed, the multi-building campus will boast a main center housing the presidential museum, a forum building containing an auditorium and media suites, a branch of the Chicago Public Library, and a large multipurpose athletic center.

Locals are not thrilled with the Obama center

The Daily Mail reported that in addition to the "eyewatering" costs and time delays surrounding the Obama Presidential Center, the complex hasn't been particularly well-received by some residents and leaders in and around Jackson Park in Chicago's South Side.

Local Alderwoman Jeanette Taylor, who is otherwise a fan of former President Obama, is worried that the community is "going to see rents go higher and we're going to see families displaced," and lamented, "Every time large development comes to communities, they displace the very people they say they want to improve it for."

The outlet noted that local residents have complained about the massive grey building resembling a "concrete tomb", "a totalitarian command center dropped straight out of 1984," "a monument to megalomania," and "a giant trash can," to say nothing of the "$300,000 and $400,000 homes that nobody can afford" that have begun to be built nearby, in addition to a new 26-story, 250-room luxury hotel owned by a close associate of Obama.

"It looks like this big piece of rock that just landed here out of nowhere in what used to be a really nice landscape of trees and flowers," local activist and attorney Ken Woodard said. "It's a monstrosity."

"It's over budget, it's taking way too long to finish, and it's going to drive up prices and bring headaches and problems for everyone who lives here," he added. "It feels like a washing away of the neighborhood and culture that used to be here."

Obama Foundation sees a different reality

All of the complaints and critiques of the Obama Presidential Center appear to have fallen on deaf ears or been summarily dismissed by the project's leaders, based on a statement provided to Newsweek last month from Emily Bittner, the vice president of communications for the Obama Foundation.

"Everyone who sees the Obama Presidential Center is blown away by its beauty, scale, and the way it will be an economic engine for Chicago and a beacon of hope for the world," Bittner dubiously claimed. "We look forward to welcoming all visitors to the 19.3-acre campus next spring, to experience a presidential center that not only honors the Obamas' legacy but also lifts up the next generation of leaders."