The Waxman Chabad Center in Beachwood finally opened last Wednesday, Dec. 21, completing construction project four years in the making.
Workers demolished the old Chabad House fronting Green Road on Thursday, revealing the gabled façade of the new $3.4 million structure that is the final piece of the Green Road Jewish campus.
The front entry of the concrete block building is meant to resemble 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, worldwide headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch. Inside, the 18,000- square-foot center has a sanctuary for worship as well as programming and office space.
Congregants and members of the Chabad community are delighted to finally have a suitable, permanent place of worship after years of meeting in a private house.
In “the old house, it was pretty dilapidated,” says Cary Senders, a Chabad board member. “It would leak when it rained, and it was always crowded. Now we have an opportunity to have one of the most unique, beautiful shuls in the city.”
Worshippers held their first services in the new sanctuary on Dec. 21 during Mincha / Ma’ariv (evening services). The city of Beachwood granted a certificate of occupancy for the building the same day, allowing for the demolition of the old building. The last services in the old Chabad house were on Dec. 20.
Although the building is now functioning, the official grand opening of the center will take place sometime after Chanukah, says Mel Waxman, whose family donated most of the funds for the center. “We’re still working on getting things organized.”
About 125 people attended Shabbat services on Saturday, Dec. 24, but had to sit on folding chairs and benches while they waited for the furniture n ordered from Kibbutz Lavi in Israel n to arrive.
The bookcases and pulpit were custom-designed and are already installed. The ark from the old building was moved to the new location, and an additional new ark constructed of three different types of mahogany wood stands in the front of the sanctuary.
The sanctuary has a capacity of 150 men, while the women’s gallery above seats 100. The women’s gallery seats are placed on risers for a better view. “It’s the best seat in the house,” says Rabbi Leibel Alevsky, Chabad of Cleveland director.
The center also includes offices for clergy, an office dedicated to the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, a board room, and a social hall with dairy and meat kitchens. There is also programming space that will be used for Chabad programs such as Friendship Circle and the Jewish Learning Institute.
The new building has been a long time coming. Chabad acquired the property in 1982, using a private home as a meeting place. In 1999, zoning issues, including a fight by some Beachwood residents to keep the area zoned residential only, halted building plans.
In April 2001, Chabad broke ground on the mikvah (ritual bath) that stands behind the new synagogue. The city approved an April 2003 deadline for completed construction of the main building, a deadline that was later pushed back to February 2005 and finally to December 31, 2005.
The reasons for the delay were based on the construction and design of the building, says architect Jack Bialosky Sr. of Bialosky + Partners. “It was not an ordinary project by any means,” he says. “It was very difficult to design and even more difficult to construct.”
The congregation wanted a duplicate of the Brooklyn headquarters, which was impossible to do, says Bialosky. The Brooklyn building has three stories, while Beachwood only allows two. In the end, a compromise was reached that accommodated all the functions of the building in a compact design.
“The architect was exceptional,” says Rabbi Alevsky. “He maxed out every corner.”
Congregants are excited to make use of their new facility. “We’re looking forward to having the community join us in the building,” adds Waxman.
Cary Senders is grateful for the gift of the new synagogue.”We’re no longer envious of anyone else’s synagogue in the city,” he says.
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