Valley synagogues on moveSTEFANIE L. PEARSON Assistant EditorLay leaders of both Har Zion and Mesa's Temple Beth Sholom said the moves are expected to bring the congregations closer to where members live now and where families new to the Valley are moving. Temple Beth Sholom has outgrown the 16,000-square-foot, "poorly space-planned" facility near Mesa Drive and Broadway Road that has been its home for 10 years, according to Executive Vice President Gary Kaplow. Although in the past decade the synagogue has more than doubled its membership to 170-families, said President Alan Sapakie, the current facility's size and location stand in the way of continuing significant growth.
The congregation has been holding Shabbat services in Tempe for a year. "A growing number of members are coming from Tempe and Ahwatukee," said Kaplow. A new site will draw more, he said, enabling the congregation to increase programming. The congregation aims also to hire an executive director. Realtors are looking for a 20,000-foot facility to remodel and for a buyer for the Mesa property, which a 1994 appraisal valued at $500,000, Kaplow said. "We want to find a site immediately," he said, "but we recognize it will probably take four to six months." A congregational survey taken recently determined that members would commit to pledges totaling at least $500,000.
Eighty percent of congregants participated in open houses held recently at the site, said Mervyn Levin, who chairs the relocation effort. Three weeks of balloting is scheduled to begin Nov. 17 to authorize the congregation to purchase all or part of the 35,000 square foot site for approximately $2 million, according to Executive Director Ann Pshaenich. If it moves, Har Zion will be the only Conservative synagogue serving the far northeast Valley. Two small congregations, Ahavat Torah and Beth Joshua, failed to succeed in the area, but Har Zion President Ed Carroll said he is confident the location only will strengthen his 36-year-old congregation. "The (failed synagogues) didn't have the stability of many years of history," he said. Har Zion has some 340 member families. Levin said the synagogue encountered insurmountable zoning restrictions when it considered expanding its existing facility. Also, he said, its prime location means that the congregation can realize a significant sum of money from its sale. "There aren't too many properties available at the foot of Camelback Mountain," he said. A recent appraisal of the land and buildings valued the site at $1.7 million, he said. The Thunderbird property would need limited improvements, including renovation of the kitchen to conform with kosher laws, with separate facilities for milk and meat. Levin said the "ball-park fund raising requirement" to complete the move is around $1 million.
"When you're looking at options," said Temple Beth Sholom's Kaplow, "the number one consideration should be how you feel about the particular synagogue, the rabbi, the lay leaders, the programming in general. But with that said, the second consideration is proximity. Har Zion's move north bodes well for us in terms of retaining our percentage of the East Valley market share." Har Zion's Levin agreed. "The bulk of our membership, and the Jewish community, is moving north. And that's where we need to be."
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