Demolition in full (sledgehammer) swing

Renewal construction updates (almost) as they happen, for the week of August 22, 2016.

Last week, members of the Renewal Building Committee received an hour-long guided tour through the construction zone, led by Pomerleau’s very capable site superintendent, and were treated to a first-hand account of the extensive work that has taken place thus far.  Much of the interior of the 1937 wing (the portion of our campus that is being renovated), has been gutted.  As you can see from the photos posted here, plaster, drywall, ceilings, lights and even long runs of wiring have already been removed, opening up the space for the next, more major phase of demolition work.

The crew has now shifted their emphasis to the former Eisendrath Auditorium and will soon begin removing the ceiling, walls and stage.  In about 2 weeks’ time, large sections of the second and third floor links that connect the older portion of the building to the School Wing will be demolished, beginning with the area where our Rabbis were previously housed.  By the time we all gather for Rosh Hashanah, there will be no mistaking that our Renewal Project is in full construction-mode. (Don’t worry, though, our Phase 1 construction work will be on a short hiatus during the High Holy Days. The site will be quiet and the construction zone will be safely segregated from our public spaces.)

All of this is to make way for our beautiful, light-filled central Atrium, Library, Café, Youth Lounge, Family Chapel and the rest of our Phase 1 spaces, all in a LEED Silver Certified, environmentally-friendly building.

A friendly reminder that all High Holy Day services and programs will be taking place on-site this fall. We’ll be using the Main Sanctuary, Philip Smith Congregational Hall, 3rd floor Youth Chapel, and various other spaces within our School Wing. Specific services and room assignments are not yet finalized, so please look for more information later in these Life at Holy Blossom updates.

As always, we thank you for your continued support. For all the photos of Renewal construction in progress, please click here.