After years of holding services in trailers and renting venues for larger gatherings, the Chabad Jewish Center of Greater St. Petersburg has a new downtown home.
The two-story Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Learning at 533 4th Street North brings worship, classes, community meals, and celebrations together in a 14,000-square-foot building with a sanctuary, social hall, classrooms, library, commercial kosher kitchen, and rooftop deck.
Rabbi Alter Korf and his wife, Chaya Korf, celebrated the opening alongside hundreds of community members and supporters at a ribbon-cutting ceremony this past Sunday, October 25th. Programming began in the building in April.
“Today we don’t just mark the completion of the building but celebrate the beginning of a new era,” Rabbi Korf said during the ceremony.
The opening marks a significant change for an organization that has spent more than two decades working out of smaller spaces across St. Petersburg.
The Korfs founded the local Chabad in 2002, initially operating from a stilt house along the bay. Hurricane concerns and the need for more room led to a move into a 1,000-square-foot storefront on Central Avenue.
The organization later relocated to 4010 Park Street North, where multiple trailers totaling more than 2,000 square feet housed weekly services, Hebrew school, and other activities.
As participation grew, larger gatherings, including High Holiday services and community challah bakes, required rented hotel and event space.