December 2003

$1 Million Boosts Levy Family Campus Campaign

Mindy Berkowitz, executive director of Jewish Family Service of Silicon Valley says she is excited to move into the Levy Campus once it is completed.

Progress on the Levy Family Campus has accelerated dramatically in recent weeks with a $1 million gift from Eli Reinhard, and the commitment of Jewish Family Service of Silicon Valley to move into the new building.

Reinhard's gift brings the fundraising total to $12 million, just $10 million shy of the $22 million goal. For the total contribution that Reinhard has provided to the campus, the new building will be named to honor him.

The Levy Family Campus, a project of the Jewish Federation of Greater San Jose, involves the construction of a $22 million campus that will house the Federation, the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center, Yavneh Day School and Jewish Family Service of Silicon Valley. It is scheduled for completion in 2005.

In an effort to raise the additional funds, an active campaign within the high-tech community is underway to match the $2 million dollar challenge grant from Gloria and Ken Levy (see November JCN). The entire campus is named in honor of the Levys.

The "High Tech Campus for a High Tech Community" campaign includes one-on-one appeals to senior executives in Silicon Valley and a new website that will be directed toward the general technology community.
Alongside the aggressive fundraising campaign, Campus Project Manager David Yoffie has been busy with developers and planners. "With the progress we have made, the project has now moved to a full-time execution phase," Yoffie said. "We are now clearly in sight of our January groundbreaking."

Yoffie noted that permits have now been approved by Los Gatos for building demolition, grading of the property, building the shell and tenant improvements.

"The permit for tenant improvements includes the full build-out of the new facility," Yoffie told the JCN. "We are now engaged in required inspections to determine if hazardous materials mitigation will be required prior to demolition."

The most common hazmat issue in buildings is asbestos. However, Yoffie points out that "the existing buildings lack ductwork, which is the largest source of asbestos in buildings of their age."

Yoffie also told the JCN that the general contractor, San Jose Construction Co., is currently re-bidding all of the sub-contracts on the new facility to assure the lowest possible costs.

Preschool Classrooms

One of the first physical changes to the property is the appearance of temporary classrooms for the JCC Preschool, which were scheduled for delivery on Nov. 19. These specially designed educational trailers will house four of the preschool classes during construction of the new campus building. Two classes will be held inside the existing preschool office building, which will remain standing during construction.

The temporary classrooms will be inspected by the city before licensing, which is expected to take place by Dec. 1. The actual move into the temporaries will occur during winter break.

The trailers contain standard educational portables used by school systems throughout California. Parents of preschool students were given a full preview of the temporary facilities at meetings held in October.

JFS Joins List of Occupants

Jewish Family Service has announced that it will move to the Levy Family Campus when the facility opens in 2005. The commitment of JFS to move into the building, promises more rent and almost complete occupancy for the building.

JFS had occupied space in the original facility, but had moved off-campus in preparation for construction. Mindy Berkowitz, JFS executive director, told the JCN that it means a lot to the organization to be part of a Jewish campus setting.

"We are thrilled to be returning to the campus," she said. "The synergies among agencies mean we can do far more together than we can separately." One example of the synergies that Berkowitz cited is the ability of JFS clients to move seamlessly from one of that agency's events to a JCC program to a hot meal.

"We also have the advantage of a core of volunteers who work out of a single location," she said.

She also believes the central location will make JFS' work more visible to the community as a whole. "While much of the work we do is confidential, the new location will allow the community to see more aspects of JFS' programs," Berkowitz said.

JFS provides resettlement and vocational assistance to at least 3,000 people every year, including émigrés from the former Soviet Union, Iran, Ethiopia and other countries. The agency has a staff of 14 full and part-timers plus 8-10 volunteers per week teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Another 5-10 people serve as weekly "friendly visitors" to isolated seniors. The agency enters its 25th year of service in 2004.

"We're doing good work now," Berkowitz told the JCN. "We think we can do even more from the new campus." She noted that the campus setting has the potential to reach more people "thereby better serving our disparate community and rejuvenating Jewish life."

Cornerstone Campaign Progress

The Levy Family Campus is comprised of the Addison-Penzak JCC, the JCC Pre-School, the Yavneh Day School, and offices of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley and the Jewish Family Service. The new facility will house an art gallery, kosher café and an area that can be rented for events such as bar/bat mitzvah and wedding receptions. It will also include a fitness center and gym as well as the existing swimming pool and tennis courts.

Groundbreaking will take place in January, with dedication of the new campus expected around mid-2005.

A new brochure on the Gloria and Ken Levy Family Campus is enclosed in this issue of the JCN and is being used in the fund-raising effort. The brochure uses the theme, "Within Our Grasp" to let potential contributors know how close we are to the beginning of construction of the new facility. It urges members of the community to join the Cornerstone Campaign and "become part of Silicon Valley's Jewish future."