Community
Brondesbury Park Shul gears up for £5m facelift
The United Synagogue has contributed £1 million to the project.
March 22, 2018 15:44
The United Synagogue has contributed £1 million to the project.
March 22, 2018 15:44Brondesbury Park Synagogue will vacate its premises for up to 18 months from early May for an ambitious £5 million rebuild.
Under the spiritual leadership of Rabbi Baruch Levin and his wife, Kezi, the North-West London shul has enjoyed unprecedented growth and now has 350 families among its membership.
The existing premises have for some time been considered too cramped for activities also including a nursery, cheder and community events — and in need of an upgrade. The United Synagogue has contributed £1 million to the project.
Rabbi Levin told the JC the rebuild “represents a miraculous transformation for a community that had resigned itself to a bright past but a bleak future”. He sees it as “a game changer which, coupled with strong programming initiatives, will spur on the quantitative and qualitative growth of the community”.
Project director Dan Turner added: “As a rapidly growing community with an ever increasing number of children, we challenged the architects to design us a building that would meet all our needs, not just for now but for the years ahead. To this end, the building will feature a prayer hall for up to 400 people, communal hall, youth room, and a dedicated space for nursery, cheder and children services.
“Credit to our architects who have ensured we were able to include all the facilities we need in a comparatively small footprint and modest budget.”
From May, services will be held in a base in nearby Willesden.Chairman Steve Elstein told the congregation that the aim was to return to the rebuilt shul “by Rosh Hashanah 2019”.