CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago City Council is expected to sign off on construction of the Obama Presidential Center in a park on the city's South Side.

The council is scheduled to take up the $500 million project Wednesday. The project remains under federal review because the site, Jackson Park, is on the National Register of Historic Places. However, City Council approval would be a major step forward.

Last week, the Chicago Plan Commission approved the proposal to build on the site selected by former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama. The council's zoning committee did the same on Tuesday.

The proposal has won widespread support in Chicago, but it has also been met with resistance from critics who oppose putting the center into a historic and popular park.