Miami Beach Jcc To Celebrate New Facility With February 12 Environmental Topping-out Ceremony

Feb. 8, 2012 - PRLog -- MIAMI BEACH – The Miami Beach Jewish Community Center will celebrate the completion of its new building’s outer structure with a February 12 ceremony that combines a traditional “topping out” with a commemoration of Tu B’Shvat, Judaism’s version of Earth Day.
   The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. inside the 35,000-square-foot JCC structure at 4221 Pine Tree Drive, which remains under construction and is scheduled for completion in September 2012.  In addition to leaders and benefactors of the JCC, program participants will include Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower, City Commissioners, spiritual leaders, and representatives of other major Jewish institutions.
   A highlight of the ceremony will be the planting of a tree in honor of Tu B’Shvat, which celebrates the environment and agriculture.  The event also will include a topping-out program and hard-hat tours of the major facilities under construction.
   The new two-story building will be known as the Galbut Family Miami Beach Jewish Community Center in recognition of the first major donors to the JCC’s $12 million capital campaign.  Located on a three-acre property along the Intracoastal Waterway, the project will feature a variety of specialized facilities to meet the recreational, cultural, creative and social needs of the Miami Beach Jewish community.  These will include a state-of-the-art fitness center, a 6,500-square-foot gymnasium, a 4,200-square-foot outdoor swimming pool and a multi-purpose outdoor playing field.
   The property was made available to the JCC through a 99-year lease, provided by the City of Miami Beach.  Construction was initiated with a construction loan that was generously guaranteed by the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.
   According to Jerry Sokol, President and Campaign Chair of the Miami Beach JCC, the new building will fill a tremendous need for Jews living in and around the city.  
   “Miami Beach is the largest Jewish population center in the United States that lacks its own full-service Jewish community center,” Sokol said, “and this JCC will serve to unify our diverse constituents.”
   For more information about the February 12 topping-out ceremony or plans for the new Miami Beach Jewish Community Center, please contact Jerry Sokol at 305-347-6514 or at jsokol@mwe.com, or contact JCC Executive Director Jay Roth at 305-534-3206 or at jroth@gmjf.org.