MJCC/PJA remodeling begins April 13

By Paul Haist

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Remodeling of the building occupied by Portland Jewish Academy and the Mittleman Jewish Community Center will begin April 13 with completion expected by the beginning of September.
The approximately $6.5 million project is the first phase of a two-phase overhaul over the 1970s-era facility intended to provide better accommodations for the school, an improved athletic facility as a key revenue source for the center, and a more useful venue for cultural programming.
The entire center, with the exception of the Sportsplex, closed at 5 p.m., April 12 and will reopen at 9 a.m., April 23.
The MJCC, under the leadership of President Jordan Schnitzer and a blue-ribbon board of community leaders has been at work for several months to create an economically viable model for the MJCC in today's increasingly competitive fitness marketplace.
Plans for the current construction project were unveiled at a community meeting at the MJCC last December.

At the time, Schnitzer, MJCC staff and representatives from the design team of Thomas Hacker Architects spelled out changes meant to create a modern "boutique" fitness center, many improvements to the school facility and renovation of spaces for cultural programming.
In announcing the upcoming start of phase 1, Schnitzer outlined the main goals.
"The first area that will be impacted will be the athletic area downstairs," said Schnitzer. "And while the pools will stay open and the therapy pool locker rooms, the rest of the locker rooms downstairs are just going to be gutted. So, we'll need some patience on the part of the athletic members."
Schnitzer outlined many large changes for the school in phase 1.
"The entrance to PJA is going to be expanded, including increasing the size of the office," he said. "All the floors are being redone, all the classrooms are being redone. The first thing you'll see on the left is a fabulous new library. We're combining several rooms to create a state-of-the-art and adequately sized library."
The school's computer lab will be relocated to a much larger space downstairs from its present location, while the small space where the lab is now will be transformed into an improved teacher break room, according to Schnitzer.
The business model for the fitness center is predicated on the understanding that the MJCC can't compete with larger public and private fitness centers, but can attract revenue with what Schnitzer described as "a niche program" in which he envisions a target membership of about 600