Hillel's new building continues to grow, but all the funding necessary for the project has yet to materialize.
Just over $9 million out of the necessary $12 million has been raised for Steinhardt Hall, the 35,000-square-foot facility that will house Hillel's 25 student organizations at Penn.
But although Hillel has not yet reached its financial goal, organizers said that construction will continue according to schedule and be completed by June.
"Barring any major unforeseen problems, we will be open for new student week 2003," said Rabbi Howard Alpert, executive director of Hillel of Greater Philadelphia.
In fact, Steinhardt Hall's construction is ahead of schedule, Penn Hillel Director Jeremy Brochin said.
The building's completion is not dependent upon reaching $12 million at this point, according to Alpert.
"We take out a loan and pay back the loan as soon as the pledges are paid off," Alpert said. Commonwealth Bank is financing the project.
Alpert said he hopes the fundraising campaign will be finished by the time the building is complete.
"We're continuing to speak to individuals with an interest in sustaining Jewish life at Penn and who support Steinhardt Hall," Alpert said.
Hillel borrows money against the pledges of its donors -- and the longer people have to give their money, the more they are able to give, according to Alpert.
"Most of the funds are paid off over several years anyway," Alpert said. "Some people spend three, four, five years paying off their pledges."
The current $9 million consists of the $2.5 million naming gift donated by Penn alumnus and financier Michael Steinhardt, plus other individual pledges and institutional money.
Steinhardt Hall, located on 39th Street between Locust and Walnut streets, will be home to the administrative offices of Hillel of Greater Philadelphia as well as a Judaic library, 300-seat sanctuary, living room, study lounge and student activities center, complete with a coffee bar.
Kosher dining services, which are now located in Irv's Place at 4051 Irving Street, will also reside in the new building, which sits on a site that the University has leased to Hillel for 72 years for a "symbolic fee," Alpert said.
Although construction lately has been chugging along as planned, the three-year-old project got off to a rocky start.
In 2001, when it was first reported that Hillel would be relocated to the Hamilton Village area, members of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity were reportedly angry that the land that used to be the fraternity's parking lot would be turned over to the building.
And more significantly, only half of the $12 million had been raised during the two years following the original proposal that was unveiled in 1999. But Steinhardt's multi-million dollar contribution last spring brought funds up to $9 million, which allowed construction -- which is being overseen by R.M. Shoemaker Co. and the Staubach Company -- to begin at last.
Hillel has already begun to lead tours of the facility to students and parents. The steel infrastructure and exterior walls are up, the brick-laying is underway and a large portion of the interior work -- including the heating and cooling systems, duct work, plumbing, flooring and stairways -- are complete.
Brochin said that students have been involved with the design of the building -- lead by Jacobs/Wyper Architects of Philadelphia -- and now are deciding on the building's furniture, carpeting and front archway.
The current Hillel building, located at 202 South 36th Street, was built in 1946 and expanded in 1982. At 10,100 square feet of space, Hillel decided that the structure did not adequately accommodate the needs of Penn's approximately 6,000 Jewish students.
