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Federation to move east and stay downtown, trustees vote
BY: MARILYN H. KARFELD Senior Staff Reporter
The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland is moving to Beachwood.
At the same time, Federation leaders say they are committed to keeping the organization’s current four-story building at 1750 Euclid Ave.
In a 77 to 37 vote with one abstention, the board of trustees last week approved a contract to buy and renovate a three-story building in Science Park in Beachwood, where Federation staffers will have their offices. Trustees also voted to keep the 20,000-square-foot, white-columned, downtown facility, designed by renowned architect Edward Durell Stone and built in 1965.
“We’ll have two bases of operations,” insists Stephen H. Hoffman, Federation president and CEO. “We’re going to develop a major operations base in Beachwood, that’s true. We’ll also be working with a committee to come up with new programs for Jewish life in downtown Cleveland as well as the general development of Cleveland.”
Those passionately oppos-ed to moving Federation headquarters out of downtown were dejected and muted in their response to the trustees’ decision. David Goldberg, who spearheaded the formation of The Committee to Keep JCF in CLE, said his group has disbanded and will not be involved in planning uses or programs for the Euclid Ave. building.
“We wanted to stay downtown,” says Goldberg, co-chairman of AmTrust bank. “It didn’t get approved. They are going to do these two facilities, and we wish them luck. We hope they can fulfill their promise.”
“I am disappointed in the decision, and I’m waiting to see how Federation is going to fulfill its proposed commitment to the city (of Cleveland),” says Scott Garson, a former Federation board member who wanted to keep the organization headquartered downtown.
“The proof will be in what they do,” says S. Lee Kohrman, a Federation trustee-for-life, who described himself as very disappointed in the board vote. “The Jewish community is a subset of the greater community. Moving the headquarters, whatever name they want to put on it, to the east side, away from Cleveland, is wrong.”
Others are more enthusiastic. By finding this middle ground, Federation can keep a Jewish presence in the general Cleveland community, but also more efficiently operate close to its base of donors, volunteers and agencies, says Rob Zimmerman, a Federation trustee who sits on the Community Relations Committee (CRC).
“I’m counting on Federation officers and leadership to make good on that promise to make an investment in the downtown facility,” adds Zimmerman, who says he will volunteer his time to make the proposal a reality. “Maybe it’s only window dressing. This is going to be a test of top leadership.”
Federation will make a concerted effort to continue to hold some board meetings at the Euclid Ave. building, Hoffman said. He and those few staffers who work for the CRC will have offices both downtown and in Beachwood.
Those four or five employees will not be rattling around in an empty building, Hoffman maintained. “We’re keeping the building for new programs to come, not for a handful of people.”
Preliminary estimates to maintain the downtown building for office and meeting use are $150,000 a year, Hoffman said. Renovations to the building have yet to be determined and will depend on programming needs, Hoffman added.
New programming for the downtown building will “only be successful if the board fulfills its proposed commitment,” notes Garson, vice president of the commercial real estate firm NAI Daus. The board must “create a sense of place, where people want to be and to go. This means investment in that facility.”
“I’m very disappointed in the outcome, but we all need to move on and create a vibrant 1750 Euclid Ave., meaningful to the Jewish community and the greater Cleveland community,” says Anita Gray, who vehemently opposed Federation’s moving its offices to the suburbs. “I’m not a person who criticizes and walks away. If you want to make change, make it from within.”
Those who wanted Federation to stay downtown knew they were fighting an uphill battle. They formed a committee, took out ads in the CJN, created a website, and began lobbying for their cause.
They pushed for two “downtown dialogues,” which Federation acquiesced to and funded, to elicit programming suggestions for the Euclid Ave. building. Recommendations included creating a JCC-like facility, with a coffee shop, art gallery, and meeting spaces; a “venture capital” fund to assist entrepreneurs establishing a small business downtown; and a scholarship fund for Jewish students who promised to live in Cleveland.
The pro-downtown faction insisted that the Federation building represented the Jewish community’s commitment to strengthening the economic health of the city of Cleveland. A strong urban core, they feel, is essential to the well-being of the suburbs. Furthermore, in order to attract and retain young Jews, the city must have an exciting downtown, where 20- and 30-somethings would want to live, work and play. Without new blood, the Jewish community would continue its current slow population decline.
The building committee, which recommended moving east, concluded it was cheaper to buy and renovate an existing facility, rather than build a new structure next to the Mandel Jewish Community Center, where Federation already owns land.
The deal to buy the Science Park building, just south of the intersection of Richmond and South Woodland Roads, will close at the end of September, says Federation chair Harley Gross. It will take about a year, he estimates, to renovate and occupy the building, whose precise location will be announced soon.
Federation’s building committee will search for an architectural firm to design the interior and possibly a small addition, Gross says. One of the main reasons to purchase the building was to develop a “first-rate” meeting room and conference facility, he adds, either within the building’s existing footprint or through a modest expansion.
At the same time, Gross anticipates Federation will run programs out of its downtown building, possibly in conjunction with neighboring institutions such as Cleveland State University or PlayhouseSquare. There is money in a building fund that could be used to renovate the Euclid Avenue building as needed, he adds.
Gross will appoint a committee to develop plans for the downtown structure. Federation officers are prepared to ask principals in endowment funds and donor-advised funds to “make investments in the programs downtown,” he says.
Renting office space to other Jewish agencies currently downtown, such as the American Jewish Committee or the Anti-Defamation League, or even Hillel at CSU, are suggestions that have not yet been explored, say Gross and Hoffman.
Federation has not decided yet what to do with 1720 Euclid Ave., the adjacent 20,000-square-foot building it owns that now houses staff offices, Gross says.
Now that the board has approved purchasing the Beachwood building, Gross says Federation will seek donors for the project, part of the multi-year fundraising Centennial Initiative. The money will not come from the annual Campaign for Jewish Needs, which began September 10 and runs through December.
Deciding to move Federation’s main offices to Beachwood has been a long, bitterly contested process, which at times threatened to split the Jewish community.
“We’re a resilient and committed community” with a mission to help those in need, says Gross. “We listened to each other. I’m feeling proud of the win-win solution that came out of this process. Now that a direction is clear, we need to move forward together.”
Asked if the contentious debate would affect the annual fundraising campaign, Goldberg answered without hesitation. “I hope not.”
mkarfeld@cjn.org
At the same time, Federation leaders say they are committed to keeping the organization’s current four-story building at 1750 Euclid Ave.
In a 77 to 37 vote with one abstention, the board of trustees last week approved a contract to buy and renovate a three-story building in Science Park in Beachwood, where Federation staffers will have their offices. Trustees also voted to keep the 20,000-square-foot, white-columned, downtown facility, designed by renowned architect Edward Durell Stone and built in 1965.
“We’ll have two bases of operations,” insists Stephen H. Hoffman, Federation president and CEO. “We’re going to develop a major operations base in Beachwood, that’s true. We’ll also be working with a committee to come up with new programs for Jewish life in downtown Cleveland as well as the general development of Cleveland.”
Those passionately oppos-ed to moving Federation headquarters out of downtown were dejected and muted in their response to the trustees’ decision. David Goldberg, who spearheaded the formation of The Committee to Keep JCF in CLE, said his group has disbanded and will not be involved in planning uses or programs for the Euclid Ave. building.
“We wanted to stay downtown,” says Goldberg, co-chairman of AmTrust bank. “It didn’t get approved. They are going to do these two facilities, and we wish them luck. We hope they can fulfill their promise.”
“I am disappointed in the decision, and I’m waiting to see how Federation is going to fulfill its proposed commitment to the city (of Cleveland),” says Scott Garson, a former Federation board member who wanted to keep the organization headquartered downtown.
“The proof will be in what they do,” says S. Lee Kohrman, a Federation trustee-for-life, who described himself as very disappointed in the board vote. “The Jewish community is a subset of the greater community. Moving the headquarters, whatever name they want to put on it, to the east side, away from Cleveland, is wrong.”
Others are more enthusiastic. By finding this middle ground, Federation can keep a Jewish presence in the general Cleveland community, but also more efficiently operate close to its base of donors, volunteers and agencies, says Rob Zimmerman, a Federation trustee who sits on the Community Relations Committee (CRC).
“I’m counting on Federation officers and leadership to make good on that promise to make an investment in the downtown facility,” adds Zimmerman, who says he will volunteer his time to make the proposal a reality. “Maybe it’s only window dressing. This is going to be a test of top leadership.”
Federation will make a concerted effort to continue to hold some board meetings at the Euclid Ave. building, Hoffman said. He and those few staffers who work for the CRC will have offices both downtown and in Beachwood.
Those four or five employees will not be rattling around in an empty building, Hoffman maintained. “We’re keeping the building for new programs to come, not for a handful of people.”
Preliminary estimates to maintain the downtown building for office and meeting use are $150,000 a year, Hoffman said. Renovations to the building have yet to be determined and will depend on programming needs, Hoffman added.
New programming for the downtown building will “only be successful if the board fulfills its proposed commitment,” notes Garson, vice president of the commercial real estate firm NAI Daus. The board must “create a sense of place, where people want to be and to go. This means investment in that facility.”
“I’m very disappointed in the outcome, but we all need to move on and create a vibrant 1750 Euclid Ave., meaningful to the Jewish community and the greater Cleveland community,” says Anita Gray, who vehemently opposed Federation’s moving its offices to the suburbs. “I’m not a person who criticizes and walks away. If you want to make change, make it from within.”
Those who wanted Federation to stay downtown knew they were fighting an uphill battle. They formed a committee, took out ads in the CJN, created a website, and began lobbying for their cause.
They pushed for two “downtown dialogues,” which Federation acquiesced to and funded, to elicit programming suggestions for the Euclid Ave. building. Recommendations included creating a JCC-like facility, with a coffee shop, art gallery, and meeting spaces; a “venture capital” fund to assist entrepreneurs establishing a small business downtown; and a scholarship fund for Jewish students who promised to live in Cleveland.
The pro-downtown faction insisted that the Federation building represented the Jewish community’s commitment to strengthening the economic health of the city of Cleveland. A strong urban core, they feel, is essential to the well-being of the suburbs. Furthermore, in order to attract and retain young Jews, the city must have an exciting downtown, where 20- and 30-somethings would want to live, work and play. Without new blood, the Jewish community would continue its current slow population decline.
The building committee, which recommended moving east, concluded it was cheaper to buy and renovate an existing facility, rather than build a new structure next to the Mandel Jewish Community Center, where Federation already owns land.
The deal to buy the Science Park building, just south of the intersection of Richmond and South Woodland Roads, will close at the end of September, says Federation chair Harley Gross. It will take about a year, he estimates, to renovate and occupy the building, whose precise location will be announced soon.
Federation’s building committee will search for an architectural firm to design the interior and possibly a small addition, Gross says. One of the main reasons to purchase the building was to develop a “first-rate” meeting room and conference facility, he adds, either within the building’s existing footprint or through a modest expansion.
At the same time, Gross anticipates Federation will run programs out of its downtown building, possibly in conjunction with neighboring institutions such as Cleveland State University or PlayhouseSquare. There is money in a building fund that could be used to renovate the Euclid Avenue building as needed, he adds.
Gross will appoint a committee to develop plans for the downtown structure. Federation officers are prepared to ask principals in endowment funds and donor-advised funds to “make investments in the programs downtown,” he says.
Renting office space to other Jewish agencies currently downtown, such as the American Jewish Committee or the Anti-Defamation League, or even Hillel at CSU, are suggestions that have not yet been explored, say Gross and Hoffman.
Federation has not decided yet what to do with 1720 Euclid Ave., the adjacent 20,000-square-foot building it owns that now houses staff offices, Gross says.
Now that the board has approved purchasing the Beachwood building, Gross says Federation will seek donors for the project, part of the multi-year fundraising Centennial Initiative. The money will not come from the annual Campaign for Jewish Needs, which began September 10 and runs through December.
Deciding to move Federation’s main offices to Beachwood has been a long, bitterly contested process, which at times threatened to split the Jewish community.
“We’re a resilient and committed community” with a mission to help those in need, says Gross. “We listened to each other. I’m feeling proud of the win-win solution that came out of this process. Now that a direction is clear, we need to move forward together.”
Asked if the contentious debate would affect the annual fundraising campaign, Goldberg answered without hesitation. “I hope not.”
mkarfeld@cjn.org
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