The 90 year old Temple Tifereth has long bordered the Case Western Reserve campus. Today - it becomes a part of the school.
The Maltz Family Foundation and Case officials unveiled a plan to restore the temple to its original splendor and, under a long-term lease, make it home to a university performing arts center for drama, music and more.
But the Temple's 14-hundred Jewish families will not lose it. The rehab will allow the religious iconography to be preserved where it stands, revealed for High Holy Day services several times per year.
Rabbi Richard Block leads the Temple.
RABBI BLOCK:
"This building is of tremendous importance to our congregation, to the Jewish community. To know its going to be a part of the life of this congregation and community for 99 years is thrilling."
About half the restoration will be paid for with a 12 million dollar gift from the Maltz Family Foundation. Work will begin as soon as additional funding is acquired, but university president Barbara Snyder says fund raising is already underway - and there is a chance the facility could re-open for the 2012-13 school year.
Margaret Carney is the University's architect.
MARGARET CARNEY:
"The building itself physically is actually in very good shape; we brought our facilities crew over here and they came away saying 'we're not afraid of this building'. Its got a lot of really unique space. It needs a lot of work in terms of building systems."
The agreement allows CASE to drop previous plans for a $100 million performing arts center project.
The school plans to add pedestrian bridges from its core sites to the Temple and other new buildings on what it now calls "West Campus".
Rick Jackson, 90.3.
