A roof over our heads. Almost.

Work on our site has really ramped up these past couple of weeks. Now that virtually all of the cement floors have been poured, large crews of electricians and mechanical tradespeople are roughing in the miles of wiring and ductwork that will provide power and maintain a comfortable temperature in our new spaces.

This week, a different crew arrives to build the new roof over our new Family Chapel (formerly the Eisendrath Auditorium), a major milestone as we approach a closed-in condition. As we reported last time, the Atrium skylight components are on-site, and as soon as the structural steel work is complete, the canopy of glass that will provide so much light and warmth to our Temple living room will be put into place. However, one section of the glass roof will be left off so that the feature staircase can be lowered in place in just a few weeks. You can be sure that we’ll post a video of this fascinating process shortly after it happens. Also, a reminder that you can always tune into our construction progress in real time on one of our live streaming cameras.

Phase 1 of our project includes not only our light-filled Central Atrium, but also, our brand new Family Chapel, Café, Youth Lounge, Judaica Shop, Library, modern heating and cooling systems and more … all in a LEED Silver Certified, environmentally-friendly building.

Together, we can fully fund Phase 1 by the time we open.

So many in our congregation have taken our Renewal Project call to action, “ALEINU … it is upon US,” to heart. We’ve raised over $5 million dollars in this last year alone for Canada’s largest-ever synagogue building project. Truly phenomenal momentum. And our canvassers are currently engaging with dozens of families, and looking forward to beginning the conversation with hundreds more, about becoming part of our growing list of aspirational contributors.

Our fundraising total is just a hair under $27.5 million to this point. Which means we have just over $4 million still to raise of our $31.5 million total in time for our planned opening this summer. Based on our recent fundraising success, and the Renewal of Spirit that has come hand in hand with our Renewal of Space, we think we can absolutely make this happen. Just consider what a beautiful and symbolic thing it would be to enter into our brand new, transformative Atrium on Rosh Hashanah knowing we have fully-funded Phase 1 of our Project.

To begin a conversation about your Renewal commitment, payment over time and tax advantages (particularly relevant at this time of year), please contact our Director of Development, Jonathan Ain at jain@holyblossom.org or 416.789.3291 ext. 249.

As always, we thank you for your continued readership, viewership and support (financial and otherwise) of our Renewal Project.