May 13, 2014 12:00 am • Gregory Tejeda Times Correspondent

CHICAGO | A real estate developer who wants to turn the one-time site of U.S. Steel Southworks’ plant into a residential and retail community said Tuesday he will give a lakefront plot of land to the University of Chicago if they use it to develop a presidential library and museum for Barack Obama.

Dan McCaffrey, of McCaffrey Interests, has said he’d like to have an Obama presidential library as part of his proposed Lakeside Chicago project on the lakefront from 79th to 87th streets in between the South Chicago and South Shore neighborhoods.

During a community meeting of about 150 residents of the 10th and 7th wards at the Grace Apostolic Faith Church, 8233 S. Exchange Ave., McCaffrey said he’d let the university have control of such a facility.

“If they are chosen, we’re going to give them the land,” he said.

Within Chicago, there are several sites desiring to have the future Obama library – including the former site of Michael Reese Hospital, the Pullman neighborhood, and the campuses of Chicago State University, the University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Chicago.

The latter is considered a favorite among some political observers because Obama once lived in the neighborhood and served as an instructor at the law school. Jeremy Manier, director of the news office at the University of Chicago, said the university would like the library to be located in a neighboring community on the South Side.*

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