metro

Donor steps up to ensure a Jewish communal center continues in Oak Park.

I

Esther Allweiss Ingber
Contributing Writer

Ilene Monkman of Huntington Woods
is grateful: "This is a brilliant solution
to save this building."

T

he Jimmy Prentis Morris Jewish
Community Center in Oak Park
will close on Monday, Aug. 31,
just as officials from the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit told hundreds of
disappointed and upset stakeholders dur-
ing two community meetings at the build-
ing in January.
But all is not lost.
Just in time to make the Jewish New
Year even happier, a deep-pocketed, white
knight has surfaced. The anonymous
donor's generosity will ensure that a
Jewish communal center is based in Oak
Park for many years to come.
"This is good, good news:' said
Federation President Larry Wolfe about
the recent development. He appeared at
the JPM Aug. 24 alongside Federation CEO
Scott Kaufman. They were guests at the
Monday night meeting of the Save the Oak
Park JCC Committee, organized and led by
Ron Aronson of Huntington Woods. The
meeting attracted about 250 attendees.
Offering praise to Oak Park Mayor
Marian McClellan for helping to broker a
deal, Wolfe said, "We're fortunate that a
donor stepped forward last week to make
an agreement"
The donor, described as someone "with
a deep love for the community:' will make
a multimillion-dollar investment in JPM,
the facility that McClellan called "the very
heart of Jewish life in this area" because of
its proximity and friendliness.

Wolfe told the Jewish News they were
eager to come right away to share the new
development with the JPM community,
even if the deal involving Federation and
its real estate partner, the United Jewish
Foundation, is only "99 percent finalized."
Wolfe called it "a firm agreement, subject
to approval later this week by Federation's
Board of Governors:'
Those gathered at JPM collectively
gasped as Kaufman and Wolfe told about
the donor and a plan to preserve the swim-
ming pool while tearing down the rest of
the 59-year-old building. Excitement grew
with talk of replacing the structure with a
brand-new, state-of-the-art facility.
The JPM Building, as it will be called,
will be energy-efficient, largely due to a
20 percent reduction in its square footage.
In addition to the pool, the building will
offer a fitness area, classrooms and meet-
ing space.
Kaufman said the donor has com-
mitted to paying for all aspects of the
project, including teardown, engineering
and architectural plans, construction
and allied costs, such as landscaping.
The demolition is anticipated to begin
in April and take 15-20 months to com-
plete.

"We've had the
Program for Ho-
locaust Survivors
at the Oak Park
JCC for the past
22 years. The
survivors are
very rooted here
and we hope to
return," said Dr. Charles Silow of
Huntington Woods.

10 August 27 • 2015

"The United Jewish Foundation will
own the building; it will not belong to
the donor:' Howard Neistein, Federation's
chief operating officer, told the Jewish
News. Another new donor has pledged
$50,000 annually to help with operations.
The major anonymous donor will have
input on the design of the new building
but not how it is run. UJF will hire opera-
tors to manage the building, Neistein said.
JPM will no longer offer an executive club
with lockers and showers. However, sepa-
rate swim periods will continue for men
and women.
Since Federation announced the closing
of the JPM building because of its annual
$1 million deficit, Kaufman said, "It has
been a high priority for us to come up
with a solution:'
Finding the right plan for the building
was "challenging and stressful because it
was so emotionally important to people in
our community," he said.
Several proposals for JPM were pre-
sented and rejected before the one that
got the nod. Kaufman said proposals
for the building had to meet three set
criteria: offer programming to the com-
munity; stay under Jewish auspices; and
be financially sustainable. The expectation

Marilyn
Lessem and
Phyllis Aron-
son, both of
Huntington
Woods. "I was
surprised and
very happy. It
restored my
faith,' ' Lessem said.

is for the new JPM building to break even
financially.
On this evening of seeming resolu-
tion to the JPM crisis, McClellan recalled
how "people were devastated and furious
when they heard about the closure" of the
JPM building. She and Federation lead-
ers praised the Save the Oak Park JCC
Committee for making a difference in the
community.
Aronson and other committee leaders
met as often as possible with Federation
leaders to discuss sparing the JCC in
Oak Park. The group raised money to
award several JPM memberships to
young individuals and families. It hosted
Professor Howard Lupovitch, director of
Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic Studies
at Wayne State University, for a lecture on
Jewish community centers.
Kaufman said results of the commit-
tee's original survey of what community
members most desired in a JCC helped
to determine what the new JPM entity
should include. The pool, for example, is a
much-utilized feature.
Even without all the details nailed
down, most of those commenting after
the meeting indicated they felt assured
their beloved communal center would
continue.
"The seniors, the Russian community,
our Orthodox members, the pool users,
those who meet in this building and love
it so, will soon have a modern, energy-
efficient new building:' McClellan said.

❑

See a related editorial on page 36.

"I think its a great thing.
Everyone worked so hard. Its
like a miracle," said David
Oliwek of Franklin.

"I'm waiting for the details,"
said Esther Posner of Southfield.

