Lack of funds halts campus construction
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March 8, 2013
Construction has been halted on the Jewish Community Campus site in West Windsor, as fund-raising has fallen short of the $28 million needed to complete the project.
In a March 6 letter to community supporters, Howard Cohen, the president of the Jewish Community Campus Council, wrote, “Over the past several months, Campus leadership has been working tirelessly to raise the working capital and funds necessary to finish this project.
“Unfortunately, we have not been successful. This is a very difficult time for all of us.”
A December 2012 opening had been planned for the Jewish Community Campus, designed to accommodate a range of Jewish agencies and the Betty and Milton Katz JCC of Princeton Mercer Bucks. But the economic downturn and other factors have blocked its progress.
“We have been unable to pay the contractor and we cannot at this point meet our obligations under our loan agreement,” Cohen explained in the letter. “We face litigation and potential foreclosure.
“The bottom line is that only a major immediate infusion of funds can save the Campus from being lost.”
“We have over $6 million in assets on our balance sheet, but unfortunately much of it is not liquid,” he continued. “Without these funds, we cannot finish construction and open the doors to the Campus.”
According to Cohen, $11 million still needs to be raised to repay the lender, with $6 million of that due by December of 2013, and an additional $5 million payable over time.
The campus’s 77,000-square-foot facility on the Clarksville Road site is nearly complete, and last March supporters attended a “topping off” ceremony to mark the placement of the last steel beam in the structure.
In his letter, Cohen paid tribute to the generosity of those who have supported the project, but it does not seem likely that there will be sufficient communal commitment to cover the long-term debt.
Cohen wrote that sufficient pledges payable over multi-year commitments would have been sufficient to complete the construction, but efforts to accelerate these payments and /or “monetize” them were not successful.
“We wish we had better news to report,” he said, “but the simple truth is, unless some heroes step up to help us now in a big way, the project will be terminated.”
The campus project was initiated 13 years ago as a central home for the JCC, the Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County, and the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Mercer. Lee Rosenfield, the chief executive officer of both the campus and the JCC, said the goal was to create a cohesive center where the community could come together for a broad range of programs and activities.
In recent years, the federation, JFCS, and the foundation have been housed in separate locations, and they continue to function that way.
Cohen pointed out that all the agencies continue and will continue to provide services and that the Jewish Community Center “is still present and active without walls.” The Abrams Day Camp and Teen Travel programs will go on this summer, unaffected by the financial shortfall.
Comments
Anonymous
March 11, 2013
What an embarrassment for the Jewish community. That campus leadership should even hint that the blame for this project’s potential failure lies with the community and a hero will be necessary to save them, shows just how misguided they are. How many millions of dollars have been wasted over the years that could have served to benefit every other Jewish agency and synagogue in the area? How many hundreds of thousands of dollars have been wasted on the CEO’s salary; a man who was brought in a little over a year ago because of his fundraising skills and abilities; a man fully endorsed by this leadership; a man who will walk away richer while decimating the Jewish community, leaving it in worse shape than when he came in? How many hopes and dreams have been left in ruin because of this leadership’s inability to act and allow things to get to this point? No, the only blame that should be placed is on those who allowed this to happen…Mr. Rosenfield, Mr. Cohen and the rest of the leaders of this project, you are the ones to blame. Cut your losses; there are no heroes to be found…you have lost the faith of those you think will bail you out of the disaster you have created. Shame on all of you.
anonymous
March 14, 2013
OOPS!!!!!!
anonymous
March 16, 2013
How dare a person who hides behind a curtain of anonymity and who most likely has spent a lifetime being a spectator rather than a doer have anything negative to say about the Jewish Community Campus project. You, my friend, are the embarrassment. The many volunteers have spent years volunteering their time, efforts and money for this project with nothing but the best intentions. Having not been in the trenches you obviously know nothing about what a uphill battle building a new Jewish Community Campus has been. And are you sure that millions were “wasted”? Maybe you should use facts and not opinion before making slanderous comments. Shame on you.
AG
May 05, 2013
I agree with you anonymous March 16 about the poster from March 11. It’s easy to cry money ” wasted” but what has March 11 done in their lifetime to support the Jewish community either with a financial endorsement or with volunteer within the JCC or any other organization for that matter. Tough economic times for many has resulted in bankruptcies and foreclosures. Unfortunately the families in our Jewish communities don’t have the financial security that the baby boomers had when they were in their thirties. This is the lifeline of the JCC, the young with children. March 11, it’s easy for you to point the finger at those who give their blood sweat and tears for the continuation of the Jewish community but where were you? Did you try to help raise funds or did you sit back, complain and now are giving a haha? March 16 is right, look in the mirror you will see the shame.