By Brendan O’Brien

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Former President Barack Obama presided on Tuesday over a ceremonial groundbreaking at the future Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, saying he hopes the facility will be a hub of global civic activism.

The $700 million facility is located blocks away from the University of Chicago’s South Side campus. Construction began in August, despite resistance from local activists. This project is being funded through donations to Obama Foundation.

It is expected to be finished in 2025. The museum will include artifacts dating back to Obama’s presidency of 2009-2017. As the first Black president of the United States, Obama was a historic figure.

Obama (60), who was once an activist in Chicago’s community, said that “We are about break ground on the premier institution for developing civic leadership across fields, across disciplines, and, yes… across the political spectrum.”

Obama made his remarks and then his wife Michelle Obama (former first lady), J.B. Pritzker, Illinois Governor, and Lori Lightfoot, Chicago Mayor, began digging into the site with shovels.

Obama’s political career began in Chicago. He taught law at University of Chicago and met his first wife there. Their two daughters were also born here. He represented part of the South Side area in the Illinois state Senate. After that, he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

He stated that Chicago is the place where “everything most precious” to him begins.

Environmental activists opposed the construction of the center on the 9.3-acre (8-hectare), site located steps away from Lake Michigan. Protect Our Parks and others filed a lawsuit in Chicago federal court in April against the Center’s construction.

A court refused to grant an urgent motion in August to suspend the project.

The Obama Community Benefits Agreement Coalition opposes the plan, claiming that it will cause displacement of residents.