Temple Israel’s Recent Renovations (pages

TEMPLE ISRAEL’S RECENT RENOVATIONS

By Dan Deutsch, Executive Director

Temple Israel is blessed with a 100,000 ft2 facility in the Longwood Medical Area. Our building was built in three different stages, each in a different era of our history.

Every year, a significant portion of our budget goes towards maintaining and improving our physical infrastructure. These allocations are determined through our Building and Grounds Committee which boasts an active roster of ten volunteers led by Marc Maxwell. The committee works alongside our Facilities Director, Julia Pollard, to identify and prioritize projects that are needed to preserve our facility. Each member of the committee brings their expertise and together their experiences blend and direct the work that we complete. As Marc Maxwell puts it, “Building and Grounds spends a lot of time and thought on the systems of the building most take for granted. We keep the lights on, the heat and air conditioning working, the roof sheltering us from the weather. We have also been working on lessening our energy usage and carbon footprint for 25 years. We were recycling such materials before it was fashionable or topical.”

This past summer we worked on improving a number of our spaces to better align our physical structure with our renewed mission and vision statements. Our standard annual capital budget of $250,000 was supplemented with a few generous capital gifts which enabled us to invest in some much needed renovations.

HVAC Systems

We replaced four of our HVAC units and upgraded to energy efficient units that will lower our energy consumption and lessen our carbon footprint. Our Building and Grounds and Green Team Committees will continue to work together to move us forward as we work to reduce energy consumption.

Social Hall

Noting that the Social Hall was looking aged, the Building and Grounds Committee worked to replace the old parquet wood floor that was damaged through years of heavy use. The committee looked at dozens of different materials and finally settled on a linoleum vinyl tile that looks like wood. The floor was put in during the late summer and has already seen a lot of activity.

Q: What is your favorite space in our building?

A: Levi Auditorium. When we took a large room that wasn’t really usable for us today and turned it into a beautiful space that we use all the time, it was one of the best improvements we could have made to our building. Also, since my background is in architectural history and the preservation of historic architecture, I’m delighted that we retained the original features of the room like the carved paneling. I’m proud that we won a preservation award for that project. — Dayl Cohen, Member of the Building and Grounds Committee

Sanctuary Ark

A generous gift from Dr. Meryl LeBoff allowed us to restore the ark in the main Sanctuary. Hundreds of hours were spent by craftsmen who delicately repaired and retouched the leafing on the ark, bringing it back to its original glory. This project is an example of how Building and Grounds works to preserve our building, choosing to restore our precious ark rather than upgrading or going for a new look.

Wyner Museum

For years, the Wyner Museum hosted various exhibits that were created and curated by the Museum Committee. This year, Building and Grounds worked with the Museum Committee to reopen our windows and bring in comfortable seating, making the museum an ideal space to congregate and connect with each other.

Library

Temple Israel librarian, Ann Abrams, worked with volunteers to rethink the layout of the library, which is now open and more welcoming. Congregants are invited to stop in for a cup of tea, or take a few minutes to complete a communal jigsaw puzzle. The space still hosts the weekday minyan at 6:15 p.m. and will also be the backdrop for some of our adult education programs.

Q: What do you like most about our building?

A: How the building represents our community it holds. Built over decades, as our community changes, our buildings have changed. Designed by different architects in each phase of its evolution the building represents changing styles of architecture just as we have changed as society, observance and our practices have evolved. — Marc Maxwell, Chair, Building and Grounds Committee

Families with Young Children & Technology Lab

Through a generous capital gift from the Mayer family, we were able to transform Room 105 into a perfect space for programming geared towards families with young children. This is now the location for weekly classes for our youngest members of the community. Additionally, we were able to take our old computer room and invest in making it a flexible space which we are now calling the Technology Lab. We will be able to view movies or take out our new collection of iPads and laptops, allowing this room to adapt and meet our ever changing daily needs.