Obama's presidential library to be built in Chicago's South Side

CHICAGO, May 12 (UPI) -- The presidential library and museum for President Barack Obama will officially be located in the South Side of Chicago, but the final location has not been revealed.

"With a library and foundation on the South Side of Chicago, not only will we be able to encourage and effect change locally, but what we can also do is attract a world to Chicago," Obama said in a video posted to the Barack Obama Foundation's website.

The library is expected to cost around $500 million and create nearly 2,000 permanent jobs in a section of the city infamous for its poverty and crime. The facility is also expected to generate about $220 million in revenue annually.

The location in the South Side of the city is important to the Obama family. It's where first lady Michelle Obama grew up.

"I am thrilled to be able to put this resource in the heart of the neighborhood that means the world to me," the first lady said in the video. "Every value, every memory, every important relationship to me exists in Chicago. I consider myself a South-Sider."

The University of Chicago is seen as the leader in winning the library ahead of other contenders, such as the University of Illinois at Chicago.

"The city of Chicago was instrumental in demonstrating to the president and first lady the advantages of locating the future Obama Presidential Center in the city, and the University of Chicago brought to life the broad potential and vital energy of the South Side," Obama Foundation Chairman Martin Nesbitt said in a statement.

Obama will formally leave office on Jan. 20, 2017.