DOGE says it's closing Hoffman Estates' Obama library site

President Donald Trump’s administration canceled the lease for the Barack Obama Presidential Library in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates, one of many federal leases and contracts recently terminated, according to a list published by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

But the cancellation may have little impact. Federal officials who run the temporary facility said in mid-2024 that they planned to exit the lease and move the library to a permanent, out-of-state location this year.

Critics say it’s part of DOGE’s “slash and burn” strategy toward federal contracts and leases, either canceling many without necessary planning or inflating the amount of spending cuts by including contracts already paid off or expiring.

“It’s possible (DOGE) has some particular malice toward the real estate holding the archives for the last really popular two-term president,” said Charles Tiefer, a retired University of Baltimore law professor and government contracting expert. “But it’s more likely that it’s fakery about unrealized savings, the same as in hundreds of other contracts.”

The DOGE announcements are part of a Trump administration plan to shed up to half of all government office space across the nation, leased and owned, while also shrinking the federal workforce. Trump officials say the effort will prune hundreds of billions in spending and curtail fraud.

Musk has made a big splash over the past month, announcing the cancellation of thousands of federal contracts and hundreds of leases.

But nearly 40% of the nearly 2,300 announced contract terminations won’t cut spending, according to administration data examined by The Associated Press, mostly because the funds were already spent or committed.

“Not only can I not see how they’re going to save any money, but it just strikes me as amateur hour,” Tiefer said.

The Barack Obama Presidential Library is in an unassuming building near the intersection of Golf and Barrington roads, surrounded by shopping malls and is not open to the public.

The National Archives and Records Administration, which controls official presidential libraries and records, began leasing the building in 2016, paying $1.4 million each year in rent, according to the General Services Administration, which runs the government’s real estate portfolio.

Hoffman Estates Medical Development LLC bought the former furniture showroom at 2500 W. Golf Road in 2011 for $2.45 million, and in 2016 secured a $6.4 million mortgage, county records show. About $5 million was spent transforming it into a fortified, climate-controlled facility.

NARA uses it as temporary storage for tens of millions of documents, classified records and more than 35,000 artifacts and gifts accumulated by the Obama family during the eight years Obama held office. Family keepsakes include a jeweled sword from Saudi Arabia, dresses worn by Michelle Obama at inaugural ceremonies and a baseball signed by the 2010 San Francisco Giants.

The $830 million Obama Presidential Center, currently under construction in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood and set to open in 2026, is run by the Barack Obama Foundation, a separate, privately funded organization, according to foundation spokesperson Emily Bittner.

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NARA technicians and archivists spent years digitizing the records held at the Hoffman Estates library. Agency officials said last summer they would use the data to open the nation’s first digital presidential library in 2025. The present facility’s artifacts and millions of document hard copies will be sent to a permanent site in College Park, Maryland, and occasionally lent to the Obama Presidential Center.

A NARA spokesperson said recently in a written statement that the agency will complete the work by “late fiscal year 2025,” which ends Sept. 30.

Along with the closing or consolidation of four other facilities, including a temporary records storage building in Fairfield, Ohio, the transfer will save $5 million per year, said Archivist of the U.S. Colleen Shogan in 2024.

“The decision to close facilities was not made lightly,” she said. “These changes will allow us to invest in digital transformation, expanding access, improving customer service and increasing public engagement with the history of our nation.”

The Musk-led DOGE this week updated information on its website showing that 748 federal government leases in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., including NARA’s Hoffman Estates and Fairfield, Ohio, facilities, would be canceled. The list totaled more than 9.5 million square feet and DOGE claimed $660 million in cut spending.

At the end of 2023, the government leased about 178 million square feet nationwide, according to the General Services Administration.

“Overall, the DOGE guys are trying to make a great show,” Tiefer said.

The 73,000-square-foot Obama library site in Hoffman Estates is now well-suited for groups that need high-security document storage, said Bob Huber, vice president of investment sales for Imperial Realty Co., which handles the property’s leasing.

NARA told the brokers last year that the library was moving out in 2025, Huber added.

“We had no illusions that the lease was going to continue,” he said. “It really didn’t affect us.”