![\"Edmonton](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Edmonton-Oshry-Kipnes-Jewish-Community-Centre-taking-shape-July-28-2026-Bar-Levi-photo.jpg\")
Edmonton\u2019s Oshry | Kipnes Jewish Community Centre set to open this winter. (Photo by Bar Lavy\/The CJN)<\/p>\nCanada\u2019s largest public Jewish construction project, the JWest campus in Vancouver, has reached a significant milestone.<\/p>\n
About two weeks ago, on July 16, Vancouver\u2019s city council approved an updated rezoning proposal for the $235-million redevelopment that will build a new Jewish community centre, with a revamped Holocaust museum, daycare, theatre and space for 20 Jewish agencies, along with a larger King David High School next door. Eventually, the builders hope to erect two apartment towers offering 630 rental units, including some non-profit housing. Groundbreaking for the new JCC is expected this fall, according to Alex Cristall, the chair of the JWest Foundation, the fundraising arm.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in Edmonton, work has been underway for months on a new JCC for a community that hasn\u2019t had one since 2012. Edmonton\u2019s construction is expected to be finished by early winter 2027, according to Stacey Leavitt-Wright, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton. The $6-million project to refit an old Boy Scouts regional headquarters will build \u201ca living room\u201d for the city\u2019s Jewish community, she said.<\/p>\n
Unlike Vancouver\u2019s massive undertaking, Edmonton\u2019s will be on a much smaller scale. It won\u2019t have a gym or a pool. But both communities share a common goal: creating new bricks-and-mortar hubs to provide a much-needed meeting place for Jews who have been seeking stronger community connections since Oct. 7, 2023.<\/p>\n
On today\u2019s episode of The CJN\u2019s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner speaks with Alex Cristall and Stacey Leavitt-Wright about where each project stands to date, and why they are betting on the future growth of Jewish life in Western Canada.<\/p>\n
Edmonton\u2019s Oshry | Kipnes Jewish Community Centre set to open this winter. (Photo by Bar Lavy\/The CJN)<\/p>\n
Related links<\/p>\n
Transcript<\/p>\n
Ellin Bessner: Twelve days ago at a meeting of Vancouver City Council, Ezra Shanken, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of British Columbia, urged councillors to approve the rezoning application for JWest, the landmark Jewish community redevelopment at Oak and 41st.<\/p>\n
Ezra Shanken: Long after today\u2019s debates are forgotten, families will live here. Families will learn here. Seniors will gather here. And communities will connect here. That will be the legacy of JWest. And in a time when it\u2019s often easier to divide than to unite, we have chosen to invest in Vancouver, to strengthen Vancouver, and to help build Vancouver\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Ellin Bessner: It\u2019s Canada\u2019s largest Jewish community building project right now. The $235 million plan calls for a new JCC of Greater Vancouver. With a daycare, a theatre, the Holocaust museum, offices for 20 major Jewish organizations, a new building: home for King David High School, and eventually, two residential towers with more than 600 apartments, including below-market housing.<\/p>\n
City councillors said yes. The vote was unanimous.<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s the latest milestone in the redevelopment we\u2019ve been following here at The CJN for years. Officials say the vote clears the way for construction to start in the fall.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, nearly 1,200 kilometres away, construction is already underway on Edmonton\u2019s new $6 million Oshry | Kipnis Jewish Community Centre, the first JCC in nearly 15 years since the old one closed in 2012.<\/p>\n Today, we\u2019re checking in on both projects to see what\u2019s changed, what\u2019s next and why, in the wake of Oct. 7 and rising antisemitism, the two Jewish communities are investing millions in the future of Jewish life in Western Canada.<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: People were like, \u201cWe\u2019ve got to plant a flag in the ground right in the middle of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: What we\u2019ve determined is the community needs a living room. It needs a central hub, a social gathering place.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: I\u2019m Ellin Bessner, and this is North Star for Wednesday, July 29, 2026.<\/p>\n Welcome to North Star, the flagship news podcast of The Canadian Jewish News, made possible thanks to the generous support of the Ira Gluskin and Maxine Granovsky Gluskin Charitable Foundation.<\/p>\n Eight years ago, when JWest unveiled its ambitious plans to replace the 60-year-old JCC and transform the Oak Street campus into a modern Jewish community hub, construction was originally expected to begin in 2020.<\/p>\n But then came the COVID pandemic. Construction costs soared, the housing market changed and the project was redesigned.<\/p>\n The revised plan features taller residential towers, more rental housing and a standalone King David High School instead of one built onto a podium in the apartment towers.<\/p>\n dmonton\u2019s project is much smaller in scale but no less significant for that community. Instead of building from scratch, leaders there purchased and renovated an existing building\u2014the former Boy Scouts regional headquarters. Construction is underway, and they expect to open in the winter.<\/p>\n To bring us up to date, I\u2019m joined from Vancouver by Alex Cristall. He\u2019s chair of the JWest Foundation\u2019s capital campaign. And from Edmonton by Stacey Leavitt-Wright. She\u2019s CEO of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton.<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: Great to see you. Thank you.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Well, it\u2019s great to have you because it\u2019s been a long time since you\u2019ve been making news, and it\u2019s time that we paid attention to what\u2019s going on in Western Canada with these construction projects of the Jewish campuses, when many communities are downsizing in the faith world and amalgamating shuls and whatever.<\/p>\n So let\u2019s get started with Alex.<\/p>\n JWest\u2014when we last spoke, it was four years ago. I\u2019d like to know: when people drive past Oak and 41st today, is there anything they can actually see that\u2019s being built?<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: So not yet. We are just about to complete our fundraising. We\u2019re just about getting permits. So I believe this fall there\u2019ll be shovels in the ground. So it\u2019s coming.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: And what will be the first thing?<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: So the first thing is the JCC needs to stay open because of all the services for seniors and kids and et cetera, and for the community. So we\u2019re going to be building\u2014the first phase is the new Jewish Community Centre. And once that is finished, which will be approximately three years, then the original Jewish Community Centre will be torn down, and then we will start the high school.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Okay. I want to bring in Stacey from Edmonton.<\/p>\n Give us the Edmonton update. If someone drives past the site today of the former Boy Scouts building, what will they see?<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: So they will see a big sign out front announcing the Oshry | Kipnis Jewish Community Centre, no longer known as the Boy Scouts building\u2014but that was the former Boy Scouts building.<\/p>\n They will see construction materials outside. They will see dumpster bins and construction fencing and PEMCO Construction signs, because construction has started on our project.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Did you get a window in your office? Have you already figured it out?<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: I\u2019ll have a view from the second floor, so I can see everybody coming and going.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Okay.<\/p>\n Now back to Alex. The idea was to start construction earlier, and now you\u2019re saying it\u2019s going to be in the fall. What has changed, and what were the obstacles?<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: So, I mean, the schedule didn\u2019t change too much, but one of the things\u2014we only have one opportunity to go to the city. So we went back to maximize our zoning for the site.<\/p>\n Also, we\u2019re raising approximately $235 million. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a project like this in Canada, let alone just Western Canada or Vancouver.<\/p>\n So the key is we want to be in a really solid position with no debt. That was sort of the cautious approach we took.<\/p>\n But again, we\u2019re right there. We had to do value engineering to make sure we\u2019re building the correct building.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: But because of that, did that delay getting approvals for the changes in the project? Because we need to talk about the apartments, the size.<\/p>\n The City of Vancouver approved the original plans in 2018, which we talked about on air when we did the interview.<\/p>\n It\u2019s going to look different now. What\u2019s changed? Why are there more apartments, higher buildings and the school moved? Tell me what the list is.<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: So the key for that was we needed to\u2026 the apartments are really market-based. When the time is right, we will build them.<\/p>\n However, the new design gives a lot more flexibility because we owe our community\u2014and we\u2019re raising these funds for two things. No matter what, we need a new Jewish Community Centre, and no matter what, we need a new King David.<\/p>\n So if you go back to the old plan, the old plan showed King David High School being the podium of one of the towers.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll credit our architects and our building committee, the JWest Development Corp. They came up with this great plan where, no matter what, King David is not attached to the apartments.<\/p>\n Those two potential apartment towers, which will also include some Jewish housing, will be on their own site. King David will have its own parcel. The JCC will have its own parcel.<\/p>\n And the beauty of that, too, is if King David grows, if we need more community space, we can actually build up. We\u2019re not inhibited by the apartments. I mean, that could be 30 or 40 years out, but it\u2019s just a much better plan. So that was the reason for the change.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: And you\u2019re moving an apartment building somewhere too. It was supposed to be\u2014<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: So instead of being a podium, we\u2019re going to have two towers at the very west of the site. That\u2019s where there\u2019ll be room for the two towers.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: The Prime Minister was just in the news and the headlines in B.C. for the whole project of buying unsold condos. The project, from what I remember, said this was going to have a lot of social housing, and that\u2019s less than it was going to be in this new iteration. Can you talk about that?<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: So yes. The economics, just like the condo developers are finding out right now, the economics to build these projects\u2014we need a little more market housing to start with.<\/p>\n We\u2019re going to have Tikva Housing Society as our partner, running those homes. Our goal will be to keep growing over the years to get as much as we can for our community. But at this point, based on that original plan, we\u2019re looking at potentially\u2014not quite as much as at the outset\u2014because the bottom line is we have to make it feasible to build. That\u2019s the most important thing. And we are lacking rentals.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: In Edmonton, housing\u2019s not part of this, but I also learned there are no JCC pool or fitness centre. That was by design. Can you walk our listeners through why not?<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: Absolutely.<\/p>\n And I will say one thing that we do have in common with the Vancouver project\u2014certainly we\u2019re not a $235 million project\u2014but we\u2019re going in with no debt.<\/p>\n We did go through a whole value-engineering process. We did heavy consultations with the community and also built on the work of previous committees who tried to get a JCC going over time.<\/p>\n What we\u2019ve determined is the community needs a living room. It needs a central hub, a social gathering place.<\/p>\n Taking on a pool and fitness facilities is extra capital and extra operating costs that the community doesn\u2019t need. We also know one of the reasons the old JCC didn\u2019t last was having to maintain that and the cost of that, as people were going to private clubs and to facilities like the Y.<\/p>\n So that exists in the city. What doesn\u2019t exist is a Jewish central social gathering place.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Whereas how many Jewish people are you hoping to serve in Edmonton\u2014and also non-Jewish clients? Let\u2019s talk about that first, and then Alex.<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: So I think first we had to focus on what are the resources we have to make this work.<\/p>\n We did not want to take on any debt, to be very clear about that.<\/p>\n And what is the financing capacity or the donor capacity to bring this forward? Certainly another $10 million could go to a larger building and bring in the fitness facilities, et cetera.<\/p>\n So we\u2019re doing something that\u2019s right-sized for this community, basically.<\/p>\n We have 5,690 Jews in Edmonton, according to the 2021 census. They are dispersed across the city, so the location was very important for us to get right and to ensure that community agencies and gatherings could take place in a very safe place.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Coming up: how Oct. 7 changed both projects, and why creating safe, secure gathering places for Jewish communities has become more important than ever.<\/p>\n You mentioned that. Let\u2019s talk about it before we go back to Alex.<\/p>\n How did Oct. 7 and security\u2014when you were planning the Vancouver one, you were probably worried about seismic issues and heat domes and accessibility. Now you have Oct. 7.<\/p>\n Can we talk about whether that has changed things in terms of costs\u2014added costs? Anyone can jump in.<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: I will say October 2023 is when we had found this building and wanted to bring it forward to the community for a vote to see if this is a building that we would take on to be our new home.<\/p>\n At the time I thought, \u201cWhat am I doing? We have other things to focus on. Is this really what we should be doing right now?\u201d<\/p>\n And really, it was the best thing we could be doing\u2014giving such life and excitement to the community and really solidifying that we are here for another 125 years and counting.<\/p>\n I wouldn\u2019t have thought back then that we\u2019d be putting in the security measures that we\u2019re having to do now.<\/p>\n It is a key component of this facility, that our Jewish gatherings have a place where people feel very comfortable hosting and being in this building.<\/p>\n And with the government funding that\u2019s being made available, it will lessen the burden on the community of carrying that.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Okay. And what about in B.C.?<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: Yeah, similar.<\/p>\n Even at the beginning, security was still on our minds, and when the design was happening there was consultation with security.<\/p>\n However, yes, that\u2019s been upgraded in costs and costs added. It is what it is.<\/p>\n What I can say is, I mean, as I said, it\u2019s a large fundraising campaign.<\/p>\n At the beginning we got off to a great start, but those are the easy asks, right? Those are your traditional supporters that I\u2019m already aware of.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: And your family has skin in the game personally too.<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: One hundred per cent. We all do.<\/p>\n And what I can say, which has been so uplifting, is it\u2019s like any fundraising campaign\u2014you go through peaks, maybe a lull, and then you get inspired again.<\/p>\n Oct. 7 was such a tragedy, but the response from the community has been unbelievable.<\/p>\n When I say our community\u2014I think it\u2019s 30,000\u2014we\u2019re getting more and more. I think more and more people are coming out. There\u2019s more people looking for community, actually.<\/p>\n And our fundraising responded in such a big way where people were like, \u201cWe\u2019ve got to plant a flag in the ground right in the middle of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n Similar to what you were saying in Edmonton, this is a generational thing.<\/p>\n I think people have been looking for community, and the response has been one of pride.<\/p>\n With that tragedy that should never have happened, it\u2019s great to see that you have choices. You could go backwards and hide, or you could all come out as a community and be stronger and more proud and participate more.<\/p>\n We\u2019re seeing way more participation.<\/p>\n Even from a fundraising perspective, it\u2019s had a really inspiring impact. People feel the need for a campus.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: But are you seeing\u2014I know there\u2019s been some growth\u2014what about in Edmonton? Who\u2019s going to use this? Is it Israelis? Who\u2019s coming that\u2019s boosting the numbers? You\u2019ve got about 500 extra over the last census.<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: We are seeing some growth. We\u2019re definitely seeing new Israeli families, for sure.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll tell you, as Alex was just saying about bringing out new donors and everybody having a part of it, we launched a secondary campaign called the L\u2019Chaim Campaign, which allows anybody in the community who wants to have a part in this to make that donation and have their name on the L\u2019Chaim board that will go up until the end of the summer.<\/p>\n Day one, they\u2019ve brought this building to life.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve had people come out that we haven\u2019t heard from in this community who\u2019ve been here for 30 or 40 years.<\/p>\n People who\u2019ve been here since 1980 have said, \u201cI want my name on that board. This is important for this community.\u201d<\/p>\n So it feels wonderful.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: That\u2019s interesting. So these are Oct. 8 Jews that are, like\u2014they may have been there before, but now they really are coming out. So that\u2019s very interesting. You\u2019re seeing that in both communities, as well as immigration, is what I\u2019m hearing.<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: So the traditional names of the generous donors who always stand up when we ask for help\u2014and we have staff members, we have young families, new families, people who just want to be a part of this and are making significant gifts, stretching themselves to make it happen.<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: We just launched our final campaign\u2014our final $18 million\u2014and we\u2019re six million into this last $18 million. That\u2019s inviting the whole community.<\/p>\n We have more big donors than ever before on this project, and we have more donors, whether it be $18 to $3,600.<\/p>\n What I do know is everybody that\u2019s been asked has increased what they\u2019ve ever done before. So whatever that is, it\u2019s similar to what you\u2019re saying. Just, \u201cI want a piece of this legacy project that is going to stand the test of time.\u201d<\/p>\n I grew up in this JCC. It\u2019s 60 years old. So it\u2019s actually nice for my generation to be part of the next one. And it\u2019s not just my generation\u2014everybody\u2019s involved\u2014but it\u2019s kind of rewarding to know that we\u2019re going to leave something here.<\/p>\n So it\u2019s been well received.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also very nice that we\u2019re getting corporate gifts as well, so we\u2019re feeling that support from outside our community, which is nice for a change.<\/p>\n So it\u2019s been well received by the whole city and the province, in my opinion.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Alex, the news out of the Federation in B.C.\u2014it\u2019s now called the Jewish Federation of British Columbia\u2014is an important topic to bring up because we\u2019ve heard from Ezra Shanken and all of the people who are involved in this change that half the Jewish population of British Columbia doesn\u2019t live in Vancouver.<\/p>\n So how do you have a beautiful campus if half the population is so far away?<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: First of all, from a federation perspective, the whole province is growing.<\/p>\n For us, the majority of this\u2014we did a study\u2014within 10 kilometres east, west, north and south is still, I\u2019d say, 60 to 65 per cent of B.C. Jewry. We have checked that.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s also sort of like\u2014it reminds me of Israel. You\u2019ve got the spoke in the wheel, right? Israel\u2019s here. We need it. It\u2019s important.<\/p>\n You need a strong core to have a very proud and strong periphery as well.<\/p>\n So it\u2019s not necessarily just a school or just something you do every day.<\/p>\n This campus is here whether it\u2019ll be a theatre event, whether it\u2019s somebody in Victoria coming for a conference.<\/p>\n A strong core will make everybody stronger, whether it\u2019s in North Vancouver, Coquitlam\u2014they come in for the weekend. There\u2019s the subway.<\/p>\n But even if it is Victoria or Kelowna, if you have a strong core\u2014and that\u2019s what Federation recognized, because Ezra and his board have done such a great job of making the whole province inclusive\u2014but it\u2019s going to be based here on this campus.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: So who\u2019s going to come in Edmonton to yours? Is it mainly for the Jewish community, or is it also open, like all the ones here in Toronto, to anyone?<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: Yeah. So the building is mainly geared\u2014especially in its programming\u2014to the Jewish community, some of which we\u2019re still starting out.<\/p>\n But we have large multipurpose space. We have other community rooms. We\u2019re going to have a children\u2019s play area, a research library, a teen lounge and a rooftop patio.<\/p>\n So with government funding in place, of course, we want to make many of our programs accessible to the greater community.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll be providing rental space as well, so that\u2019s also available outside of the community.<\/p>\n And we have the future home of the Jewish Heritage and Holocaust Centre being developed.<\/p>\n So with that, we can envision many school groups and other interest groups coming and learning and engaging with our community.<\/p>\n We hope to put on even more welcoming programs and build upon the work we\u2019ve done over the last two years.<\/p>\n With a dedicated space that we don\u2019t have to go scrambling or negotiating for, we\u2019ll be able to strengthen all of what we\u2019ve been doing.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Right, because people don\u2019t realize\u2014but maybe you can tell them\u2014how long has it been since there\u2019s actually been a JCC in Edmonton?<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: Since 2012. So it\u2019ll be 15 years by the time it opens since we\u2019ve had one.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Alex made eyes like, \u201cDid you not know that?\u201d<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: Yeah, no, I didn\u2019t realize.<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: Yeah, that old building in Rio Terrace is beloved.<\/p>\n Many people grew up there and have fond memories of it.<\/p>\n When they walk into our new space, they see the ceiling, which reminds them of the ceiling that was in the old pool area. It\u2019s a wooden ceiling. It\u2019s got a little character to it.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s been a long time.<\/p>\n So we\u2019ve had a generation or two, you could say, who\u2019ve grown up without a Jewish community centre.<\/p>\n The BBYO gatherings have been happening in people\u2019s homes. They\u2019ll happen now in the centre.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll be able to host conventions.<\/p>\n When we have groups coming to Alberta, whether it\u2019s school groups from Montreal, like we had Bialik last year, or robotics teams coming here from Israel annually, it seems, we\u2019ll have a place to bring them and welcome them to the community and showcase the community.<\/p>\n And our fundraising is for an endowment campaign because we want to make sure this building will always have the operating funds so we\u2019re never in the position we were with the old building.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve made excellent progress in a very short period of time.<\/p>\n I want to make sure we get to goal\u2014and even beyond goal\u2014so I can sleep even better.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Do we have a date when we\u2019re supposed to open?<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: By winter, we should be occupying the building.<\/p>\n Then we\u2019ll be able to plan a ribbon-cutting and all those wonderful, exciting things.<\/p>\n You know, Ellin, one of the things you had mentioned was the migration and attraction of newcomers to our cities.<\/p>\n I really feel that when people are looking at Alberta, if they don\u2019t see a community centre, they don\u2019t see that vibrancy\u2014even though it exists without walls and in various pockets.<\/p>\n But having that in one space is going to make it a more attractive community to come to.<\/p>\n So I look forward to what this will do for our community going forward.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Just so people might not know, where is there Jewish stuff happening? Like, where do you actually have your office now? Or do you work from home?<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: No, I\u2019m in a rented facility. We have a very generous donor who provided us with wonderful low-cost rent in a facility that he had his offices in.<\/p>\n So we\u2019re in temporary space. We\u2019ve been in temporary space since 2012, and another space as well.<\/p>\n So that\u2019s where our offices are.<\/p>\n Our programs are partnered with synagogues, and some with Talmud Torah. The film festival takes place in the theatre. We partner for PJ Library things.<\/p>\n But to be able to actually have everything at once\u2014it\u2019s just wonderful.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: So where are we at in terms of the fundraising? You have to raise $235 million, give or take. So where are we at?<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: So, $235 million. We\u2019re down to our last $18 million. Of that, we\u2019ve raised $6 million in this final tranche. So we\u2019re looking for $12 million more.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Stacey?<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: So we\u2019ve raised all the capital that we needed beyond the proceeds of the sale of the former building.<\/p>\n We are close. We\u2019re about two-thirds of the way to our goal.<\/p>\n We\u2019re wanting to get to $3 million, but what would make me sleep better at night would be getting to $5 million.<\/p>\n I would say this is a legacy project, so anybody with any connection to Edmonton who would like to see their family recognized in this building\u2014I would be thrilled to have a conversation.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Now, you have naming rights already. You\u2019ve told me already what the name is.<\/p>\n What\u2019s going to happen with the naming rights for JWest?<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: There are.<\/p>\n We have the Diamond Family JCC, the Roadburg Campus, and then we have other spots\u2014a whole slew of very generous donors who have found their own pieces that mean something to them on the campus.<\/p>\n You know, it\u2019s our Bathurst now\u2014Oak Street. Our synagogues, our Talmud Torah, our JCC, King David.<\/p>\n So when we\u2019re closer, you\u2019ll have to come and do your show from Vancouver.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: Listen, I would love to.<\/p>\n But also, you know, I go to the one in northern Toronto where they had CHAR\u2014now TanenbaumCHAT. It closed because they couldn\u2019t sustain it. They took the actual Lebovic name off. I mean, it\u2019s gone through a lot.<\/p>\n What, if any, lessons did you guys take or learn from what happened to the expansion of the JCCs in Toronto up north?<\/p>\n Alex Cristall: We actually learned some positives from Toronto\u2014big time\u2014in building and fundraising.<\/p>\n What we did learn, though, about the satellite JCC was that it\u2019s hard enough for a community your size.<\/p>\n We really figured we need a strong core campus.<\/p>\n Sometimes you think about needing a centre here, there, in the suburbs.<\/p>\n We talk about a strong core.<\/p>\n One of the things we learned was, you know what? Let\u2019s not spread ourselves too thin.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s put our resources into something that\u2019s been successful for 60 years.<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: Exactly.<\/p>\n We didn\u2019t want to break ground on a newly constructed facility and spread ourselves too thin and be too ambitious.<\/p>\n We also did an extensive search of vacant buildings that we could potentially purchase.<\/p>\n Yes, they were larger, but this just seemed the right size, the right fit, and as flexible as possible.<\/p>\n All of our community rooms will be furnished in a way that things can be moved around easily and can serve a variety of purposes.<\/p>\n We thought that was very important as well.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: It\u2019s been really great to get this update.<\/p>\n Thank you, Alex, for being with us on The CJN\u2019s North Star.<\/p>\n Thank you, Stacey, for joining us again.<\/p>\n Have a good summer.<\/p>\n Stacey Leavitt-Wright: Thank you. You too, as well. Thanks so much.<\/p>\n Ellin Bessner: And that\u2019s what Jewish Canada sounded like for this episode of North Star, made possible thanks to the generous support of the Ira Gluskin and Maxine Granovsky Gluskin Charitable Foundation. If you want to see the renderings of JWest and photos from Edmonton\u2019s construction site, or to learn more about the campaigns and the fundraising, go to the links in our show notes.<\/p>\n North Star is produced by Zachary Judah Kauffman and Izzie Helenchilde, who also edits our videos on YouTube. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer, and Alicia Richler is editorial director.<\/p>\n Thanks for listening.<\/p>\n Credits<\/p>\n Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner<\/a> )Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director)Music: Bret Higgins<\/a><\/p>\n Support our show<\/p>\n