Hoffman Estates building was temporary archive of Obama Presidential Library for 9 years

As the Obama Presidential Center prepares to open in Chicago’s Jackson Park this month, a stately repurposed furniture store in Hoffman Estates is being acknowledged for the role it played in digitizing the Barack Obama Presidential Library.

The 74,200-square-foot former Plunkett Furniture store at 2500 W. Golf Road was leased by the National Archives and Records Administration from fall 2016 until last September.

NARA calls the Obama Library the first fully digital library among the 14 it oversees. About 95% of the Obama administration’s records were digital from the start. The agency also received around 30 million pages of unclassified paper records for digitization.

Bob Huber, vice president of investment sales for Imperial Realty Co., said much of this work happened at the former furniture store.

“I was in there probably four or five times,” he said. “They did a great job on the inside. They never spent a dime on the facade.”

The space wasn’t filled to the brim, but spotlessly clean and almost clinically climate-controlled as the document-capture machines did their work digitizing the paper records. There was also a studio to photograph furniture or other artifacts, sometimes accompanied by dressed-up manikins.

The most personal touch in the secure building was the photographs of Obama, his family and associates displayed on the walls, Huber added.

While the building had to meet various logistical needs, its location was chosen for its proximity to where technicians lived, rather than the future Obama Center.

Though the center is run by the Obama Foundation, a non-federal group, NARA will collaborate with the foundation to display records and artifacts at the center’s museum.

Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod called it a privilege for the village to have played a role in that legacy.

“It was a great honor to host the Obama Library unofficially for all these years,” he said. “He’s a local guy.”

He wondered if the building’s recent use might add appeal for future tenants.

From a practical view, the ideal tenant would be someone who can utilize the existing security and climate control, Huber explained. Potential uses include collections of items like cars or wine that appreciate over time.

“There’s a lot of different things you could do with that,” Huber said.

Representatives of NARA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.