The J expects a 10-15% increase in membership after the completion of the expansion. They expect the pandemic to delay this membership jump though.
The new space will offer multi-purpose functionality that the J hopes will benefit the entire community, as well as allowing The J to grow. Sluyter said that most people don’t know that Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy and The J were having to rent off-site facilities to accommodate their programming. This was one of many factors that led to designing the expansion to include wide-open spaces that can be utilized in multiple ways. The two biggest spaces in the expansion will be a second gymnasium and an indoor turf field. This will allow The J to offer activities like pickle ball, volleyball and futsal. “If we needed to, we can put 300 chairs in there and have a guest speaker come,” Sluyter said. These big spaces will also provide the needed space to bring the J’s summer camp indoors when it is raining or too hot.
The expansion will double the capacity of The J’s art program with a new ceramics room. This will help get more seniors into the art program, of which the waiting list has been fairly extensive. The Youth Fitness Zone is not only being relocated to the expansion but will double in size as well. It will offer new amenities and activities to keep kids engaged, active and living a healthy lifestyle.