Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/917841
I t is now over two years since the Federation and Jewish Community Center announced the closing of the Jimmy Prentis Morris ( JPM) facility in Oak Park. Closing JPM was an exceptionally difficult and painful decision, made necessary by the dire financial situ- ation of the JCC and its potential impact on the community as a whole. Regardless of the reasons, the decision was deeply upsetting to many of our community members. We also recognize that the lack of information over time — extending well beyond when we had expected the project to be completed — has been perplexing and frustrating. This is something we will do much better going forward, beginning with this statement. Both personally and on behalf of the entire Federation, we want to sincerely acknowledge the con- cerns, sadness and anger of the patrons and supporters of the JPM facility. We know that, since its clo- sure, you have been eagerly waiting for progress. The Federation staff and its volunteer leadership and supporters understand and share this frustration. In fact, many of those involved with this effort live in the area, and a number were active members of JPM. Without question, the neighbor- hoods in Oak Park, Southfield, Huntington Woods and surround- ing areas remain vital and essential parts of our overall community. Our commitment to this area goes back many decades, beginning with the coordinated effort to secure and maintain land for use by the Jewish community. In the 1990s, we launched the Neighborhood Project to help preserve the Jewish charac- ter of the area, providing families with home purchase and improve- ment loans. Recently, these areas have seen remarkable growth, and today they offer a Jewish experi- ence that is extraordinarily rich and unique — drawing families from around the country. The A. Alfred Taubman Campus on 10 Mile Road remains an important anchor for Jewish life in the area. None of this, of course, can assuage the ongoing concerns about the future of the JPM facil- ity. We can, as we said, offer bet- ter information — specifically an explanation of why this has taken so long, as well as a description of what we expect for the future. THE PROCESS SO FAR Previously, we conveyed how the JCC's troubled balance sheet and substantial long-term debt impeded its ability to serve the community and affected its viability for the future. The Oak Park facility was losing approximately $1 million annually, while the West Bloomfield facility struggled to break even. Beyond this, the JCC financial crisis posed a threat to the welfare of our community. Over time, our com- munal resources were becoming depleted, potentially impacting money that would be needed by the broader community, including the elderly, families in need and other clients of our social service agen- cies. Thus, the ultimate decision to close JPM was made not only to keep the JCC in business, but also to protect our most vulnerable populations. As we have said, this was just one of many steps that needed to be taken. Efforts are now under way to reduce the footprint and improve efficiency of the West Bloomfield facility, better aligning it with the mission of the orga- nization today, along with a new emphasis on a "JCC without walls" model that will extend program- ming across all of Metro Detroit. In addition, we hoped to provide a more modern and cost-efficient facility in Oak Park that would con- tinue to serve the community while being financially sustainable. We began looking for funding sources for this new facility as soon as the decision to close the old building was made. At the same time, the grassroots group of JPM support- ers made a laudable effort to inde- pendently raise funds to keep the facility open, raising approximately $12,000. In accordance with the fundraising plan, these funds have been distributed in equal shares to Yad Ezra, Jewish Family Service and the Jewish Dental Clinic. Eventually, we secured a large commitment from a generous private donor to build a new build- ing. It was clear, however, that for the new facility to be successful it would need to be financially self- sustaining or we would soon find ourselves in the same situation. This set off a process of interviews with potential operators and ten- ants, with the hopes that a multi- use Jewish facility that housed offic- es as well as communal facilities and program providers, including the JCC, would be financially viable while serving the community. At the same time, we met with an architect and carefully considered all aspects of the proposed building, including the overall size, layout and function. We fully expected to break ground on the building this past summer, as was announced. BIGGER ISSUES We discovered, as we approached the scheduled date of construc- tion, that there were a number of significant challenges to consider before we began spending millions of dollars on the new building. The first was that balancing paying tenants with costly communal and programmatic spaces was much more difficult than expected. Even with paying tenants, we found that providing the facilities that many hoped for, such as an indoor swim- ming pool, remained prohibitively expensive. Simply putting up a new office building was not what the community wanted, and yet we could not find operators willing to commit to running fitness and other programmatic facilities due to the high cost. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, as we held discussions with a number of Jewish agencies and organizations that were con- sidering moving into the new build- ing, we realized that there were 6 December 21 • 2017 jn continued on page 8 6 December 21 • 2017 jn The Jewish News aspires to communicate news and opinion that's useful, engaging, enjoyable and unique. It strives to reflect the full range of diverse viewpoints while also advocating positions that strengthen Jewish unity and continuity. We desire to create and maintain a challenging, caring, enjoyable work environment that encourages creativity and innovation. We acknowledge our role as a responsible, responsive member of the community. Being competitive, we must always strive to be the most respected, outstanding Jewish community publication in the nation. Our rewards are informed, educated readers, very satisfied advertisers, contented employees and profitable growth. 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