Two-year renovation set for synagogue

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This article was published 03/02/2022 (1647 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After almost two years of virtual worship and programs, Winnipeg’s largest synagogue is poised to close for two more years to facilitate a multimillion-dollar renovation.

Congregation Shaarey Zedek’s modernist building will be vacated in early summer as work begins to remove asbestos at the property at Wellington Crescent and Academy Road, said executive director Ran Ukashi.

“It’s a once-a-lifetime renovation project,” he said about the $14-million project.

“It’s a chance to rejuvenate the facility and the community.”

The flat-roofed limestone-clad building, constructed in 1949 at a cost of $350,000, requires updates to its heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, said Ukashi. Since asbestos was discovered in the walls and ceilings, the building will be off-limits for about six months while crews remove the cancer-causing substance, he said.

The cost to remove asbestos, replace the roof and HVAC systems and upgrade is pegged at $5.5 million.

At publication time, the synagogue had not confirmed where they would worship during construction, but Ukashi said they preferred a location convenient for its 1,000 members, most of whom live in the southern part of the city. The temporary space will accommodate a kosher kitchen for their catering services, office space for 15 staff, and room to run events such as bar and bat mitzvahs, High Holiday services, and daily and weekly services.

During the last two years, the synagogue was closed to the public more than it was open due to the pandemic, said Ukashi. It held services by livestream and opened briefly to vaccinated attenders last fall before shutting down again in December due to rising COVID-19 cases.

Although the reno price tag is significant, renewing and renovating the 2,740-square-metre (29,500 sq. ft.) two-level building ensures the synagogue remains an important gathering spot for its members and the broader community, said Bob Freedman, capital campaign consultant.

“This isn’t just about investing in a building, it is about investing in an institution, which is what the Jewish community is all about,” he said about the campaign focused on the theme “from generation to generation.”

Freedman expected the capital campaign, launched in late January, will be wrapped up about the same time the congregation returns to its renovated space in mid-2024, just prior to the 75th anniversary of the building and the 135th anniversary of the congregation.

“I think our job is to make people understand it is more than beautifying the social hall,” Freedman said. “If it is important for them to have their children or grandchildren Jewishly connected, then investing in one of the pillars of the Jewish community is important.”

Freedman said more than $6.4 million has been pledged for the project.

Once completed, the interior will feature movable walls in its social hall, auditorium and lounge to accommodate groups of different sizes, new washrooms, and reconfigured office space. The footprint of the building will not change, but original windows covered up by a previous renovation will be exposed to allow more light into the sanctuary, said Ukashi.

“We’re primarily concerned the space meets the needs of the congregation,” he said of renovation.

The exterior will be largely untouched, with the refreshed interior reflecting the strong, clean lines, simple forms and rich material of the mid-century modern design, creative director Brent Bellamy of Number TEN Architectural Group wrote in an email exchange.

“The building was designed with such forward-looking ideas that its modern expression is as contemporary today as it was generations ago,” Bellamy said of the original design by Green, Blankstein, Russell and Associates.

“It is difficult to believe that it was designed almost 75 years ago.”

brenda.suderman@freepress.mb.ca

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