Hillel is awaiting approval from the University System of Maryland Board of Regents to exchange property for a lot behind the Landmark apartments, which would allow it to build a larger center for Jewish life.
The proposal would allow Hillel to trade the current site of the Ben and Esther Rosenbloom Hillel Center for Jewish Life at University of Maryland Inc. and its surrounding property at 7612 Mowatt Lane with the empty lot at 7505 and 7511 Yale Ave., which belongs to the university.
The university would pay Hillel $500,000 for the exchange, as determined by independent appraisals. If the deal is made, Hillel would rent out its current building from the university for $12,697.50 a month until its new building is completed, then move to the new site.
The university system’s finance committee sent this proposal with positive recommendations on March 31 to the full board, which will vote April 15.
“We are maxing out on space,” said Hillel Executive Director Ari Israel. “Things are kind of tight. … We’ve been working with the university to identify a location.”
Hillel, currently located across Mowatt Lane from Van Munching Hall, hosts more than 500 students every Friday for Shabbat dinner, provides space for more than 30 student groups, has a staff of 17 and supports students on kosher dining plans, more than 300 people a day, Israel said.
“The building we have right now is pretty small,” said Tamar Brown, a junior family science major and member of Hillel’s Jewish Leadership Council. “We really cater to a much larger population; this [new] building will provide more space and support for people and foster more connections.”
The current Hillel building is about 20,000 square feet, but Israel said the group hopes to double the space in its new home, a project that has been picking up in the last two years.
“It was a win-win for what Hillel wanted and what the university wanted,” said Joseph Vivona, the system’s chief operating officer and vice chancellor for administration and finance.
He said he expects the proposal to pass the Board of Regents.
“A lot of times, when an institution can consolidate a property with an adjacent property, it opens up opportunity for development,” Vivona said.
Hillel’s new building plan is still in the initial phases, Israel said, but the organization has hired an architect to help design its new building. Hillel is still fundraising and recently received a $3 million gift, Israel said. The donor, who will receive the naming rights to the building, has not yet been identified.
Continued growth will support not only the Jewish community, Israel said, but also the entire university, as Hillel works to provide programs and opportunities for leadership, social justice, interfaith dialogue and education.
Brown also said she hopes the new building will invite a more diverse group of students to Hillel.
“Just having a nicer building with really quality facilities will draw people to the building, and have people associating themselves with Hillel,” she said. “We want to attract more people.”
