Former President Ronald Reagan's childhood Chicago home to be demolished and turned into parking lot - but could it be for Obama's Presidential Library?

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

PUBLISHED: 11:22 EST, 30 January 2013 | UPDATED: 19:19 EST, 30 January 2013

The Chicago home where the late President Ronald Reagan grew up is slated to be demolished and potentially turned into a parking lot for President Obama's Library, it was revealed today.

The home, at 832 E. 57th Street, was where Reagan survived a near-fatal bout of pneumonia in 1915 and he has written fondly of playing in the Hyde Park neighborhood with his brother and others.

But the University of Chicago has recently purchased the apartment building and they have announced plans to raze it and make it a parking lot.

Home of future president: This is the Chicago home where Ronald Reagan grew up and played with his brother and neighbors

Growing up: Pictures of Reagan as an infant and later as a boy. The future president spent part of his youth in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago

Some have said that the liberal Chicago establishment does not want a reminder that Reagan, a conservative icon, once lived in the city.

Its current mayor, Rahm Emmanuel, was the White House Chief of Staff during Obama's first term.

Hyde Park Historical Society board member Jack Spicer said, 'Whatever you think of Reagan — once the building’s gone, it’s gone forever.'

The Reagan family: This undated family photo shows, from left to right, the future president's father, Jack, brother, Neil, Ronald, and his mother Nelle

The elite university has begun aggressively lobbying to become the site for President Obama's future Presidential Library, leaving some to wonder if the parking spaces are being built to accommodate future visitors, the Washington Times reported.

Obama taught Constitutional law at Chicago's law school and his wife, Michelle, and one of his closest advisers, Valerie Jarrett, are former executives at the university as well.

And the site is near Obama's current Chicago residence.

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Reagan wrote in 1988 how he remembers looking out the first-floor window of his family's apartment and seeing the horse-drawn firefighters 'come down the street at full gallop . . . the sight made me decide I wanted to be a fireman.'

He also described playing with his neighbors' toys, seeing his brother struck by a beer wagon and how he and his brother ran from the home in a panic after their parents left them home alone to go food shopping, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Present tenants: The Obamas live near the former home of Reagan and both have been involved in the University of Chicago, leading some to believe Obama's Presidential Library will be on campus property

Last year, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks denied Reagan’s home landmark status.

University officials have said a plaque alone could suffice in commemorating Reagan's former residence.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a tweet this evening for those chasing the scoop to ‘stand down.’

‘The report is false,’ he wrote. ‘Shocking, I know.’

Earlier this month, the residence was granted a temporary stay from demolition but as of now construction may begin in about 90 days.

Frank Grabowski, who sold the building to the university, said the official he dealt with knew Reagan had lived there, but 'wasn’t concerned and wanted to pull it down.'

Memorial: The Ronald Reagan Library, located in Simi Valley, CA, it's perched on a 100 acre mountaintop, 100,000 sq feet and 24 different galleries

State Rep. Jerry Mitchell, who chairs the Illinois Reagan Centenary Commission, said destroying the home would be 'a big mistake — if they renovated and advertised it, the university might make more money than they expect.'

Besides potentially using the parking lot for Obama's library, the university is also slated this year to open $700 million, 10-story Hospital Pavilion just a few blocks from the Reagan home.