What’s happening with our building? - Looking ahead to Sunday, February 27

What Will I See at the Town Hall Meeting?

This Sunday’s Town Hall meeting will be the first opportunity for many Or Hadash members to see the innovative and exciting vision for our new synagogue. Our architects (Brian Bell and David Yocum) will  present floor plans, elevations, sections and 3-D views which illustrate the overall look and feel of the proposed design, show each space in the building, and define the relationship of these spaces to one another. Their design transforms a utilitarian building into a beautiful, spiritual, welcoming Jewish home for our congregation.

Estimating the Cost of Construction

Brian and David have also been considering what materials, building systems, lighting, acoustics, fixtures, and landscaping to use in the new building. They have met weekly with the Building Committee to share,  discuss, and evaluate each of the many details of the design. And to help estimate (in advance) the cost of building a new spiritual home, all of this information, the Schematic Design package, was submitted to Gay Construction (http://www.gayconstruction.com).

The Board selected Gay Construction to provide construction cost estimates at critical stages of the project, Schematic Design being the first, and to help identify areas where we can save money without sacrificing quality. An established Atlanta contractor with many years of experience working with synagogues, churches, schools and other non-profit organizations, Gay Construction has completed a number of adaptive reuse projects similar in scope to ours.

The Schematic Design documents provided to Gay Construction several weeks ago included essentially every building requirement, wish and dream that the congregation provided to Brian and David during the programming phase. What we learned at this first pass at cost estimating, is that we would all like more than we can afford.  So for the past couple of weeks, the Building Committee, architects and contractor have been working to create design scenarios that more closely match our budget. This is hard work and involves compromise on all sides. It also involves a little bit of predicting the future of our congregation: How much more money can we raise? How fast will we grow? How much will the design of the new building affect our growth and the lives of our members?

Where Are We Now and What Comes Next?

From the outset, we have been seeking a delicate balance between what we can afford and what must we do to make the potential of a new congregational home a reality. To meet this need, Brian and David have been exploring a variety of options, options that range from less elaborate building features and finishes all the way to a phased building program, where we build what we can afford now with a clear master plan for the next stage(s) of building.

The architects will develop these alternate schemes through the next phase, Design Development. At that point the Board will determine the Total Project Budget. The total budget must allow for the purchase price of the land, and the cost of building construction, landscaping, building permits, fees, and fixtures, furniture and equipment. This dollar amount will represent what the Board determines to be a prudent and reasonable expenditure for our congregation. Once all the information is at hand, the Board will make a decision as to which path to take.

Throughout the process, the Building Committee and the Board have been delighted by the innovative, vibrant, and creative designs Brian and David have presented to us. We look forward to sharing their ideas and plans with you at our Town Hall meeting this Sunday, February 27, 9:30 AM.

The Building Committee
February 23, 2011

What’s Happening With Our New Building?

Many of you met our architects Brian Bell and David Yocum (http://www.bldgs.org/) at the community meeting last October. Since then, they’ve been very busy completing several preliminary, but critical tasks. In addition to measuring and documenting the existing conditions of the building and grounds at our Trowbridge Road site, they have compiled a Program Document and developed the Schematic Design. This article will describe these architectural terms more fully and bring you up-to-date with what’s happening on our new building.

One of Brian and David’s first jobs included coordinating with several project consultants - structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers, the landscape architect, and an acoustical engineer.  The input of the acoustical engineer was especially important because North Springs High School football games will overlap with Friday night services about 6 times each year. Our new home must be designed to temper that outside noise as well as provide the acoustics needed for the music in our sanctuary.

In addition to documenting current conditions and coordinating with consultants, our architects began gathering information about synagogues. They met with Or Hadash members, committees and staff and reviewed the 113 responses to the Fall 2010 Congregation Or Hadash New Building Survey. They also toured area synagogues, studied synagogue design, and discussed synagogue security with Federation officials.

Using the gathered information, Brian and David established a Space Program. A Space Program is a list of all required and desired spaces and the size and specific requirements for each of those spaces. Parameters used to define a synagogue building’s space requirements include finishes, lighting, ritual uses, and building code implications. Combining both the preliminary information with the Space Program, Brian and David developed a 200-page Program Document, a comprehensive written definition of the scope of the building project. This document was reviewed and approved by the COH Board.

Once this preliminary work was completed, Brian and David began Schematic Design. It is during this exciting phase that a building really starts to take shape. Schematic Design involves creating floor plans and elevations, and more fully developing each of the areas or sections within the building. During this phase the architects begin to identify what materials will be used in the different rooms and spaces, and provide details about the heating and air-conditioning systems, the lighting for various areas, acoustics, and landscaping.  As you can see in the preliminary sketch below, the design for our new building includes an interior courtyard.    

As part of the Schematic Design phase, Brian and David are creating a series of both virtual and 3-D building models. They are meeting regularly with the Building Committee and will make presentations to the Board at appropriate intervals. Brian and David will present their design to the congregation at a town hall meeting on Sunday, February 27, 9:30 AM.

    
As many of you know, our new synagogue building will be what is called an adaptive re-use of an existing building. Future articles will explain the challenges and opportunities of using an adaptive re-use building and current plans to make our new synagogue home sustainable and eco-friendly. We will also discuss such details and concepts as interior design, selection of furniture, fixtures and ritual objects, cost-estimating, landscaping, etc. If you have questions, thoughts, feedback, or other ideas for columns, please let us know.

We look forward to sharing with you,

The Building Committee

January 20, 2011

Sherry's Capital Campaign Corner

There are just two weeks left in 2010. This has been a historic year for Congregation Or Hadash with the purchase of property, our beloved rabbis signing a long term contract, the launch of a capital campaign and the expansion of programs for all ages and stages of our membership and families.  From the first days of Congregation Or Hadash, we have emphasized how important every member's participation is to our success.  That is especially true as we are all asked to participate and make a pledge to the capital campaign.  Please do not let 2010 end without you participating in this historic opportunity to be counted as a builder of our permanent home.  Thanks once more to everyone who has contributed, solicited and joined us in bringing our dream of a new home closer to reality.  Remember to get your 2010 dues, Kol Nidre Appeal, and Capital Campaign payments in by the end of the year for a tax deduction and  to help us balance our budget. With the freezing weather this week, I want to remind everyone to bring coats, sweaters, scarves and gloves to the synagogue for us to distribute to guests on January 2nd at Sandy Springs United Methodist Church.

Warmly, 

Sherry

Capital Campaign Celebration and Hanukkah Dinner Wrap Up 12/8/2010

Congregation Or Hadash's Capital Campaign Celebration and Hanukkah Dinner on December 5 was truly a major success! Nearly 250 members joined the festivities. We announced that we had raised nearly $3.8 million and by the next morning we had raised $3,811,326. Dozens of young children circled around Rabbi Analia joyously singing "I have a little dreidel" while Rabbi Mario played guitar smiling all the while. Campaign leaders, Board members, Rabbis and all solicitors, donors and staff were thanked for the hard work everyone put into making our dream of a permanent home a large step closer to reality. Coxe Curry professionals who have guided our campaign and BLDGs architects who are designing our new home were praised for their work todate and were happily part of our celebration.  Menorahs were lit all over the cafeteria as a record crowd enjoyed latkes, jelly donuts and a delicious dinner.

Our success to date has energized everyone to keep the momentum going. Our work is not done. Our goal is to have every Or Hadash member play a part in building our new home. We have a 5 million dollar goal and we will work tirelessly to reach it and we are counting on you.

This has been a Hanukkah to remember. On this last night as we light 8 candles, let's keep the flames shining bright as we work together on this historic campaign.

Time To Shine Campaign Celebration and Hanukkah Dinner - You're Invited

We look forward to a weekend full of Hanukkah celebrations! Included in these festivities is our Capital Campaign Celebration and Hanukkah Dinner on Sunday, December 5. Be sure to make your dinner reservations by Thursday, December 2nd. If you haven't already done so, please return your completed campaign pledge card to the COH office by Thursday, December 2nd, so that we can add your pledge to our grand total to be announced on Sunday.  All donors who have made commitments by this date will be recognized on an alphabetical listing of donors at this event. It will certainly be an evening of great celebration!

Thank you again for the important role each of you plays in the life of Congregation Or Hadash!

Capital Campaign Pledge Thermometer Update as of November 24

We have so much to be thankful for at Congregation Or Hadash, especially our wonderful members. Thank you for taking part in this exciting time as we raise the money to build a new synagogue home. To date we have raised more than $3.57 million!

Our Campaign Celebration and Hanukkah Dinner on Sunday, December 5 is fast approaching! If you haven't already done so, please return your completed campaign pledge card to the COH

office by Thursday, December 2nd. All donors who have made commitments by this date will be recognized on an alphabetical 

listing of donors at the event. We look forward to a festive evening 

to celebrate the great progress we have made.

Again, we remain truly grateful to everyone for making Or Hadash such a special place!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Capital Campaign Pledge Thermometer Update as of November 17

I am delighted to report that we have raised more than $3.5 million toward our $5 million goal to build a new home for Congregation Or Hadash! We are so grateful to everyone for playing a role in this important process.

Because of the importance of our young families to the future of Congregation Or Hadash, a generous family has extended a challenge toward our Time to Shine Capital Campaign, which targets the membership under the age of 40. This family's challenge will match every pledge of at least $2,500 from a young adult family, up to a total of $50,000. We encourage each member under the age of 40 to remember this challenge as they consider their pledge to our campaign.

As you know, we are encouraging all members to make a pledge by our Campaign Celebration and Hanukkah Dinner on Sunday, December 5. If you need an extra pledge card, please contact Bruce or Erica at Or Hadash's office.

Again, thank you to everyone for taking part in this exciting time
in our synagogue's life!