Building Plans

Since August, we have engaged in an effort we called Building our Future, where we have thought deeply about Har HaShem’s identity, vision and challenges. This project gave us the opportunity to expand on our strategic planning and consider how to have sustainable facilities that support our needs. One option we considered was building a joint facility at the Boulder Jewish Commons with Congregation Bonai Shalom. As we pursued this alternative, we learned a great deal and deepened our relationships and friendships with our counterparts at Bonai Shalom.

Despite good faith efforts, we were unable to reach agreement on important financial and governance issues. Consequently, we mutually decided to end our discussions and separately move to other options. While we are no longer pursuing the joint facility, we will find more ways to partner with Bonai Shalom, the JCC and the Boulder Jewish community.

We now have a welcome opportunity to catch our breath after sprinting since August. While exploring the Boulder Jewish Commons opportunity, we simultaneously examined refurbishing the north building on our Baseline campus, and also looked at constructing a new facility at its south end. We will continue to assess those options, and will explore new possibilities. 

Thanks so much for engaging with us throughout this process; we are a stronger community because of it. When you see them, I hope you will thank our Task Force headed by Melinda Kassen and including Marianne Balin, Jim Brantz, Dan Cohen, Alan Friedman, Gil Rudawsky, and Josh Zapin for sharing so much of their time and talent. They are not done yet! I was inspired by Rabbi Greene, who helped us imagine this possibility. Throughout this undertaking we have had the wisdom and support of Susan Rona, Kellie Zell, and Scott Peppet. 

We are fortunate to have partnered with Rabbi Soloway, Ellen Kort, Cass Gottlieb, Jeff Gan Levy, Jennifer Herrington and all the folks at Bonai Shalom, who paused their stand alone efforts to explore this possibility with us. We are grateful to Jonathan Lev, Monte Dube and Marcia Segall at the JCC who played a critical role in facilitating our discussions, as did Butch Weaver and Julie Shaffer at the Oreg Foundation.

We will of course continue our dialogue as this journey continues.

Shabbat Shalom!

Jim Edelman
President