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Community Corner - Bart Pachino, Executive Director

08/02/2018 03:10:32 PM

Aug2

Community Corner

Bart Pachino, Executive Director

I appreciate the opportunity to use this Community Corner space to update the Valley Beth Shalom community about the general progress of our Building Project, in particular the construction of the Howard and Irene Levine Community Center.

copy_of_img_3793.jpgThere are exciting developments almost every week now, as the construction of the Levine Center is going very quickly at this stage. At the same time, it is interesting to realize that it really has taken more than 15 years to reach this point. In the early 2000's, then-President (and now Building Fund co-chair) Jeff Levine, architecture committee member Bobbie Weiser Blau, Ben Reznik and many others began working hard with an architectural firm from Boston on Master Plan entitlements and building designs. I first got involved as a lay person" as the Day School Board's liaison to the Building Committee" when our oldest son Alex was in fourth grade; to put things in perspective, he is now 25 years old.

So, it's been a long time in coming, but our new buildings and renovations will be well worth the wait.

copy_of_valley_beth_shalom-howard_-_irene_levine_community_center-work_zone_cam-august_02_2018_10_45_00_am.jpgWhen completed this winter, the 18,000 square foot Levine Community Center will house state of the art athletic facilities on its ground level and mezzanine" including a basketball/volleyball gym and other unique spaces for recreation. While the Day School will certainly make the most use of the building, we fully expect the Levine Center to be open 12-14 hours a day, six or seven days a week, and be available for activities for VBS members of all ages" as well as hosting activities for the larger Jewish community. The same area can serve as a space for religious services and performances for more than 500 attendees. 

copy_of_img_45582.jpgAbout two years ago, when the plans for the Center were first announced, a number of our lead donors made the excellent suggestion to fully build out the “basement” below the gym level. As originally designed, the downstairs space was to be limited to bathrooms and storage under about 25% of the gym floor. By building out the entire basement, VBS was able to add about 6,500 square feet of additional and much needed space without acquiring additional land. Shortly thereafter, Rachel and Lee Rosen came forward to take on a lead donor role to create the Rosen Library in the downstairs space.  The Library's construction is in full swing now as well. The Library will serve each of the VBS schools with enhanced learning spaces, meeting/collaboration rooms, and two story-telling areas for children.  In addition, the Golde and Karry Katz Music Room (donated by the Alpert Family) will be located in the basement and will provide an excellent space for our schools' orchestra and musical rehearsals and for our adult singing groups to practice.

In terms of the current construction, the roof trusses are being installed and will be completed later this month. Installing our roof and mezzanine decking will take place in September. We expect to complete the construction of the roof and skylights and the “paseo” deck and bridge that connect the Center to the second floor of our schools this fall. In the downstairs Library and Music Room spaces, we will complete the mechanical, electrical and plumbing infrastructure in August. The metal framing of the rooms in the Library is already nearly complete and dry walling will take place in September.

The amazing work done by our local architectural firm (Abramson & Teiger), our contractor (Driver SPG) and our Owner's Representative/Project Manager (Searock Stafford) have been top notch. The terrific collaboration between these groups and VBS is at a level few major projects are lucky to achieve. From my personal day to day involvement, working in partnership with these groups has been extremely uplifting in terms of their commitment to quality and to making the best decisions for VBS. 

Looking forward, we are now also in the final stages of planning and getting approvals for the next stage of our four-stage Building Project" the Sinder Entrance Pavilion and our Entry Garden. We expect the construction of the Pavilion to begin seamlessly after the completion of the Levine Center this winter. Please try to take a few minutes to look at the beautiful model of the Sinder Pavilion that is located in our main corridor to get a feel for how this amazing addition will transform the experience of arriving at and being welcomed by VBS.

Also, later this fall, we expect to reveal the plans for the complete renovation of the Niznick Sanctuary. We are producing a video (similar to the one that runs for the Levine Center) which will soon give VBS members a chance to have a great “tour” of the future re-design of our main sanctuary. That will be another exciting milestone in 2018.

Of course, all of this requires the amazing generosity of our membership. We are very pleased to report that we now have received almost $30 million of pledges from about 150 of our members. Our Building Committee" led by co-chairs Nancy Sher Cohen and Jeff Levine" has done a superb job in soliciting those funds, but it also recognizes that we still have further to go to raise the funds to complete the three projects described above and the new Schulweis Chapel. Building fundraising will continue to be a big topic at VBS during and after the High Holidays. We are shooting to reach our final goals in early 2019. 

If you are interested in being a contributor to the VBS Building Project, please contact me (or our co-chairs, Nancy Sher Cohen and Jeff Levine, or our President, David Spiegel) and we would be delighted to give you a fuller presentation of the Project, to identify potential naming opportunities and to even give you a “hard hat” tour of the Project.

The excitement really is building. 

Wishing you a sweet new year,

Bart Pachino
Executive Director

Fri, March 29 2024 19 Adar II 5784