Here’s a picture of the site lit up for working at night featuring the equipment that moves the concrete from the trucks to the work surface.

And a closer look at the long arm…

Will load some video later today so you can see the process in action and hear the rumble of the trucks. This part of construction definitly needed kids. Great trucks, good noises, and lots of action as the concrete pours out of the arm and a big crew scrambles to spread, level and smooth. The gym floor is next. Join me?

Took this picture standing under the awning looking in the front door.

Well, the awning and door aren’t there yet – but you get the picture. The open square of blocks dead ahead is the elevator shaft. The gym is to the right on the other side of the rebar.

If all goes well, my alarm clock will be set for 3am and we’ll get some great pictures of them pouring the first floor slab tomorrow morning. The night-time concrete work is an attempt to avoid the daytime heat and traffic. Very excited to see this in action. Not that excited about meeting a cement truck on the hill in the dark…

Progress continues as the clearing and rough grading of the site gives way to preparation of the building pad.  The corners of the building are marked, with the pool and pool structures located at the rear of the site.  Discussion with vendors is continuing on final details and pricing of the pool and equipment for security, food service, audio-visual needs, phones and data.  Finishes have been studied and discussed, and the architect will make final recommendations.

Progress continues as the clearing and rough grading of the site gives way to preparation of the building pad.  The corners of the building are marked, with the pool and pool structures located at the rear of the site.  Discussion with vendors is continuing on final details and pricing of the pool and equipment for security, food service, audio-visual needs, phones and data.  Finishes have been studied and discussed, and the architect will make final recommendations.

We are seeing a lot of progress on the jobsite now.  As the photos below show, the clearing is complete and the trucks are in motion.  Grading has begun, and the preliminary layout of the pool, playing field and building pad are becoming clear.   Our construction trailer is on-site, albeit without utilities (anticipate getting power any day).  The pool documents are 95% complete and the plans for the auxiliary pool buildings have been submitted for permit and pricing.  We are finalizing the scope of telecom, security and AV subcontracts and beginning selection of the giant slide and furniture.  A lot can happen in two weeks!!

Building Pad in the Works

Playing Field

Construction Entrance

One truck load at a time

June 18, 2010

This is the first in a series of bi-weekly reports meant to keep you up-to-date with the construction of the Levin JCC.  We wouldn’t be at this point if it weren’t for all the work that dozens of committee members have been contributing since 2005.  Nor would we be here, of course, without the generous monetary gifts and pledges made by so many throughout the community.

Building construction can appear to be maddeningly slow at times, and at other times it is nothing short of dramatic.  Consider the sudden change from a woodsy site to the naked dirt that we have now.  Now we come to the slow part: watching our site become a “green” building that is both friendly to the environment and welcoming to the community.  The current orange fencing delineates the existing buffers, including the trees between the new JCC and the existing sanctuary of Judea Reform.  At the completion of construction, there will be extensive landscaping, consisting primarily of native species whose irrigation, when necessary, will be from recycled rainwater.

So, watch and share the excitement as the JCC grows into a major community facility.  The photos ,which will be added shortly,  will give you a sense of the progress and, when you can look back over the weeks of photos, you may begin to see how impressive this process really is.

View of Future JCC Entrance

View of Future Playing Field

June 11, 2010: Clearing the way for the JCC

 Thanks to the Chapel Hill News: 
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2010/06/16/57662/construction-begins-on-jewish.html

Thanks to the Durham News:
http://www.thedurhamnews.com/2010/06/16/202323/construction-begins-on-levin-jewish.html

Away We Go!

(Durham – June 7, 2010) Today the Durham/Chapel Hill Jewish Federation, in partnership with the Lerner Jewish Community Day School began construction for the Charlotte and Dick Levin Jewish Community Center (Levin JCC).  The Levin JCC is the final piece of a $10 million project that included the addition of an Early Childhood Pavilion at the Lerner School 14 months ago.  The project is located on Cornwallis Road at the intersection of 15-501 in Durham.

The contractor, Whiting-Turner, and Architect Richard Gurlitz estimate the facility will be completed and ready for occupancy late in the spring of 2011.  The completed Levin JCC will feature a full size gymnasium, fully accessible swimming pool, a health & fitness center, including an exercise room, a senior activity center, a youth center, community hall, art and music rooms, a food bank and more.  In addition the JCC will house the new Center for Interfaith Dialogue and the community’s first Holocaust Education and Israel Cultural Centers.

The Durham Chapel Hill Jewish Federation and its affiliate organizations including Jewish Family Services and the Jewish Community Foundation will relocate their offices to the Levin JCC.  BounceBack Kids has become a partner, sharing the gymnasium for their programs.

The Levin JCC has been planned and designed from the outset as a barrier-free facility, creating a new place for children, teens, and young adults with special needs, and their families, to gather.  It will become the new home to BRIDGES, a community-wide initiative begun by the Federation to integrate people with special needs into the JCC community, providing programming, events, gatherings and other activities.

“We are very excited with the potential the Levin JCC holds for the entire community, regardless of race, religious affiliation, age or physical ability”, said Shelly Katz, Executive Director of the Durham/Chapel Hill Jewish Federation. “Everyone I have spoken with from both the Jewish community and the greater community can’t wait to join us at the ‘J’ – almost every day I receive more programming ideas – and I love it.  Programming will bring our bricks and mortar to life, and impact the lives of those who participate.”

Durham/Chapel Hill Jewish Federation President, Phil Zaleon added, “Having grown up in Durham, this has long been a dream of mine and I want to thank the generous donors who have gotten us to this place in history.  And to those who haven’t yet… become a part of it!  This is truly an historic turning point for the Durham and Chapel Hill Communities!”

Putting Another Feather in Durham’s Cap

City approves construction of new Jewish Community Center on Cornwallis Road

 (DURHAM – April 10, 2010) These days, you can’t round a corner in Durham without encountering something new: the revitalized energy of downtown, the packed houses of the Durham Performing Arts Center, the vibrancy of the American Tobacco Historic District and the creative pockets of the West Village and Central Park. It’s no wonder Durham was recently named one of the Top Ten places to live by US News.

Now another bloom on the rose is about to emerge. The city of Durham recently approved construction of the Charlotte and Dick Levin Jewish Community Center, to be situated on Cornwallis Road next to Judea Reform Congregation and the Sandra E. Lerner Community Jewish Community Day School.

The Levin JCC, which will offer memberships to the general public, will include a full gym, full-size pool, spray ground and super slide, a fitness center, seniors’ activities, art and music rooms and community room. It will also house the main offices of the Durham-Chapel Hill Jewish Federation as well as its agencies including Jewish Family Services and the Jewish Community Foundation.

Federation President Phil Zaleon says, “The new Jewish Community Center will be another gathering spot that Durham can be proud of, offering people a place to be active, be entertained and be with friends.”

Federation Executive Director Shelly Katz agrees: “This is such an exciting time. We are building wonderful partnerships with groups like the Maureen Joy Charter School, BounceBack Kids and our special needs population. This JCC will be a boon to the entire community.”

In keeping with Durham’s focus on “green” and sustainable development, the Levin JCC will be a LEED-certifiable building. Planned features include abundant natural light, cisterns for recycling rainwater for irrigation, landscaping with native species and the use of recycled content and locally produced materials whenever possible. 

“Caring for the environment is a core value of the Jewish Federation, and we are sustaining that commitment in the construction of this new facility,” promises Katz.

Zaleon says the Federation plans to break ground in early May and open the doors to the new facility the following spring.