Jewish students at San Diego State have another reason to celebrate being an Aztec with the construction of the new Melvin Garb Hillel Center near campus.
SDSU is home to about 2,500 Jewish students, according to an estimate by a Hillel of San Diego study. Aztecs for Israel’s Vice President of Public Relations Jon Davidi said the new center will provide a sense of community for Jewish students.
“I think it is great to finally have a home for the Jewish community on campus; we have been bouncing around to different houses that are not really suitable for the needs of our students. We finally have a suitable place for students to go to,” Davidi said.
The Melvin Garb Hillel Center is projected to be complete by late spring 2014. Construction workers broke ground for the center in April, and construction began in late July.
The center will be a 10,750-square-foot two-story building, with silver-level LEED certification. It will also have a photovoltaic array on the roof and will feature bioretention basins for collecting stormwater overflow.
On the first floor, there will be a coffee bar, a student boardroom, an entertainment center and a library and a conference room. There will also be a large room on the second floor to accommodate dinners, banquets, films and lectures. The building will also feature a full kosher kitchen.
Director of Hillel San Diego at SDSU Jackie Tolley said the organization raised $9 million for the center. A large part of the funding came from a donation from the Melvin Garb Foundation, along with other private donors. More than 80 percent of the funding needed for the center has already been raised, Tolley said.
Hillel of San Diego at SDSU began their Capital Campaign to raise funds for the center in 2006. Fundraising efforts are spearheaded by SDSU alumnus and former director of Hillel of San Diego Herb Solomon.
The Hillel center will be located on Lindo Paseo Drive and is being built on the two empty lots near Krafty Krepes and Subway. Parking will be adjacent to the building and in the ally.
President of the Jewish Student Union Charlie Heller said the center will be a new focal point the Jewish community can be proud of, and it provide space for additional programs.
“This also shows how Judaism has been growing on campus; it could grow in the future to get more Jewish students on campus. It is not only a place for Jewish students to strive, but for a lot of organizations to come together and collaborate,” Heller said.
Discussions about the construction of a Hillel Center near campus began in 1987, Tolley said. In 2006, the Hillel purchased property on Lindo Paseo for the construction of the future center.
Photo courtesy of Hillel of San Diego
