Tomorrow Campaign

Fifty years ago, the “North Y” was inaugurated at Bathurst, north of Sheppard, on what was then an empty ravine. Nearly 25 years later, the Lipa Green Building for Jewish Community Services was erected on the same site.

Now at the heart of Jewish Toronto, these two landmark establishments are being rebuilt and refurbished, as part of the creation of Sherman Campus– a brand new “Jewish city” on the 27 acre site.

A bustling junction of humanity, theatre, music, art, health and wellness, Sherman Campus will represent the intersection of hope, opportunity, services and concern for all members of the Jewish community.

Anchoring the campus’ north end will be the renovated and enhanced Lipa Green Centre, featuring a new, state-of-the-art Conference Centre. At the south end will be the beautifully rebuilt Koffler Centre of the Arts and Leah Posluns Theatre.

Also included in the family of buildings and services will be the new Jewish Museum of Canada housing the Sarah & Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre and the Prosserman JCC which will include the Cynamon/Sokolowski Sports Complex and the Donald Gales Family Pavilion.

And uniting Sherman Campus will be the Jewish Walk of Fame, a series of indoor paths and bridges connecting these remarkable facilities to one another - and to the community they serve.

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CAMPUS UPDATES & EVENTS

Construction Begins At Sherman Campus

A new chapter in Jewish life was ushered in on Sunday, October 14, 2007, as the groundbreaking for the Sherman Campus, a unique centre of community services located on 27.5 acres adjacent to the Don Valley Ravine on Bathurst Street, north of Sheppard Avenue, took place.

The campus, named after philanthropists Barry and Honey Sherman, will be home to Jewish organizations and agencies dedicated to building community within a vibrant hub of cultural, educational, athletic and recreational activities. While the campus will service the approximately 200,000 jews living throughout the Greater Toronto Area, it will also be open to the community-at-large including people of all faiths and cultural backgrounds. The site currently houses the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre, the Koffler Centre of the Arts and the Leah Posluns Theatre, which will be completely re-built, and the Lipa Green Building for Jewish Community Services, which will undergo a major renovation.

The Sherman Campus is being redeveloped by internationally renowned architects Mansoor Kazerouni and Sol Wassermuhl of Page+Steele Architects, who have recently been honoured with several awards for the Rose Theatre in Brampton, Ontario. The Sherman Campus facilities will be fully integrated and linked with each other by open exhibition areas and gallery walkways and was developed as an extension of the ravine’s lush environment.

The projected completion date for the entire Sherman Campus is fall, 2011.

“This historic groundbreaking speaks to leadership that boldly dreams, and to a community which is committed to building thriving centres of excellence that reflect our collective values, culture, history and ultimately, our future,” said Peter Cohen, chair of the committee overseeing the Sherman Campus development.

The re-envisioned campus will include:

• The Prosserman JCC, a 70,000 sq. ft state of the art athletic, social and recreational facility, replacing the venerable Bathurst Jewish Community Centre, including: the Gales Family Pavilion, which will feature a seniors centre, an early childhood education centre, computer learning centre for seniors, culinary arts studio, lounges as well as multi-purpose rooms; and the centre for health and wellness, with extensive modern fitness facilities.

• The 500 seat Leah Posluns Theatre, rebuilt with cutting edge technology. the multi-purpose theatre will present the best in cultural programming.

• The Koffler Centre of the Arts, offering theatre, arts education, music, dance, film, spoken word, literary programs and an extensive gallery of changing exhibitions.

• The National Centre for Jewish Knowledge & Heritage includes the Holocaust Centre of Toronto museum, The Latner Jewish library, the Ontario Jewish Archives and useum exhibits that reflect the Jewish Canadian experience.

• The Lipa Green Building for Jewish Community Services, which houses UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, Canadian Jewish Congress, Jewish Family and Child, Jewish Immigrant Aid Service, and many other community agencies, will undergo a complete refurbishment and renovation, including a conference centre that will accommodate over 300 people.

The groundbreaking of Sherman Campus is the culmination of 7 years of planning and envisioning by some of Toronto’s top commiunity leaders and visionaries.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, David Engel, then chair of UJA Federation, honoured Wilfred Posluns, Al and Malka Green, the Martin Prosserman family, Murray and Marvelle Koffler & family, Barry and Honey Sherman and the Don Gales family for their vision and commitment to making Sherman Campus a reality. The groundbreaking of sherman campus is a milestone in UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s unprecedented $350 million Tomorrow Campaign, chaired by Gerald Schwartz and Lawrence tanenbaum. The campaign, which is the largest non-profit infrastructure development in Canada, is building three centres of jewish life in the Greater Toronto Area. The groundbreaking of the 50-acre Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Jewish Community Campus in York Region took place in May, 2005. In the downtown core, the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre completed its renovation in November, 2004, and the Wolfond Centre for Jewish Campus Life opened in February, 2004.
media contact:
sally szuster, public and media relations
uja federation of greater toronto
phone: 416.840-2988 / cell: 647.280-6017
sszuster@ujafed.org | www.jewishtoronto.com

SHERMAN CAMPUS