The Construction Process:

With construction completed, our dedication celebration took place the weekend of November 17, 1996 (7 Kislev 5757). Below, are stages of the construction process as tracked by Norm Kram, one of our YI members.

Although it's been some time since our last update, it's certainly not an indication of a lack of progress. In fact, the construction of the building is moving along at a fast pace, and we're now in the home stretch of construction activity.

With respect to the building exterior, the final roofing details and flashings are nearly complete. Virtually all of the brick work is complete, with just the cast stone at the Main Sanctuary ark wall and the front entry remaining to be installed. A cornerstone setting ceremony is being planned for the week before Rosh Hashana to mark the completion of the building facade. With the exception of the windows over the front entry, all of the other windows have been installed, including decorative glass windows with ceramic frit patterns and glass medallions in the Main Sanctuary and Bet Medrash. The last elements of window trim and the exterior doors will be installed in the coming weeks.

Completion of the sitework is progressing from the rear of the site to the front at Green Street. The back yard has been graded and new trees have been planted. The Sukkah/terrace slab has been installed on the side of the building between the Social Hall and Green Street. Other concrete and asphalt paving and sidewalks will be installed over the next few weeks, and the balance of the landscaping should be installed in September and October. The last site improvements to be installed will likely be the brick pavers at the entry courtyard and the site lighting fixtures and benches.

The building interior, while hidden from view from the street, is rapidly taking shape. Work on the second floor is nearly complete, with walls painted, lights and ceiling tile installed, and millwork installation progressing. Bathrooms have been tiled and fixtures and countertops have been installed. Over the next few weeks VCT floors and carpets should be installed, and the classrooms and offices will be completed.

On the first floor, work is progressing in all of the major areas, including the Main Sanctuary, Social Hall, Bet Medrash, lobby, and kitchen. Nearly all of the drywall has been installed and painting is underway in many of the areas. Millwork installation is beginning and will continue through the end of August and during the month of September. Kitchen hoods have been installed, as well as stainless steel sink units and tables. Bathrooms have been tiled and fixtures and countertops have been installed. The concrete base and walls for a Keilim Mikveh have been placed, and work has begun on the installation of a Shabbos Elevator.

I'm pleased to report that various finish items have been ordered from Israel to enhance the building. Crates of Jerusalem Stone tile for the lobby floors, washing sink walls, and the cornerstone have recently been delivered to the building. Finishing touches on the chandeliers and sconces for the Main Sanctuary, Social Hall, and Bet Medrash are being completed by our member, David Hauser, in Jerusalem, and these fixtures will soon be shipped to the States for installation in our building. A team of artisans in Nahariya has begun work on embroidered Parochot for the arks in the Main Sanctuary and Bet Medrash. Finally, a prototype for the Main Sanctuary pews is arriving in the States this week from Kibbutz Lavi and we hope to finalize the order for the pews and all of their associated details within the next couple of weeks.

The current expectation is for the building to be substantially complete by the end of September. Some interior finish operations as well as the final punch list work will likely continue during the month of October, with final completion likely to occur almost exactly one year from the start of construction. We're racing the clock to ensure that all of the finishing touches, including building furniture and furnishings, will be in place in time for the dedication weekend scheduled for November 15, 16, and 17. At this point, it appears likely that the Shul's Sukkah will be erected on the site and be available for use during Sukkot, and that we'll be able to begin using the building in early to mid-November.

Over the months of September and October we'll be able to see the completed product of over two and a half years' work of planning, design and construction come to fruition. It's exciting to see all of the details and finishes getting translated from two-dimensional plans to three-dimensional reality, and to see the planning activity for the building dedication and booking activity for future Simachot underway. These coming months will also be wonderful opportunities to wind up the fund raising efforts to help pay for all of this work and to look forward to moving in and occupying the new building.

View of Interior Renderings

• Previous Construction Updates:
  • May 5, 1996 Report
  • April 2, 1996 Report
  • February 10, 1996 Report
  • December 20, 1995 Report

Our general contractor, Erland Construction, continues to make good progress on the construction of our new shul. A summary of what has already been accomplished and what we can expect to happen on site over the next month follows:

Excavation & Sitework:

Trenching for underground utilities within the building footprint has been completed, and the underground plumbing pipes are all installed and backfilled. Site drainage piping and catch basins have already been installed, as well as piping for roof drainage. Over the next week, gravel fill will be delivered to the building and spread throughout the building footprint to a depth of 8". This fill will be compacted, and will serve as the base for the ground floor concrete slab-on-grade, which should be placed within the next week and a half. Water and sewer line connections have been made in Green Street, and the service connections are being brought to the building. Underground conduits for electric and telephone service will be installed from the utility poles in Green Street and the back yard poles to the building over the next week.

Landscaping:

Six new pear trees are scheduled to be planted in the back yard of the shul later this week, as replacements for trees that were previously removed to allow for proper grading of the rear yard. The balance of the lanscaping work will likely be completed in early September.

Concrete:

The second floor concrete slab has already been installed. Concrete for the tiered balcony seating on the second floor will be placed in the next week or two, and the ground floor slab should be placed by mid-month.

Masonry:

Brickwork, including cast-stone banding, is nearly complete on the rear wall of the Social Hall, and is continuing around the building on the north side, facing the Beacon School. GFRC (Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete) cornices will be erected on the front of the building over the Bet Medrash and Main Sanctuary walls beginning next week. The masonry work for the entire facade of the building is scheduled to be completed by early June.

Structural Steel:

The structural steel work is 100% complete.

Miscellaneous Metals:

Stairs and other miscellaneous iron items (rails, ladders, etc.) will be erected over the next month.

Roofing:

The roofing is nearly complete over the entire building. Three skylights have been installed over the area for the Aron in the Main Sanctuary (one of which will be operable to allow for an open-air Chuppah) and a large skylight over the lobby area will be installed in approximately one week's time. The edge details at the roof will be completed in early June after the brick walls and GFRC copings are completed.

Door Frames:

Hollow metal frames have been delivered on site and are being installed along with the metal stud work on the exterior walls and interior partition framing.

Glass & Glazing:

Window frames will be installed in early June as the brick walls are completed.

Drywall:

The framing and sheathing of the exterior walls is nearly complete, and should be finished later this week. The black covering on the exterior is building paper which provides a waterproofing barrier behind the brickwork wall cavity. The metal strips that are installed at regular intervals above this building paper are part of the brick ties that help secure the facade brick to the exterior wall framing system. Work has begun on the interior partition framing on the second floor (classrooms and offices) and interior framing will continue on the first floor just behind the concrete slab pour. All interior partition framing should be complete by the end of this month, and sheetrock installation should begin in early June.

Plumbing:

As noted above, the underground plumbing is in. Most of the roof drainage piping is already installed and should be completed this week, including PVC piping from one of the roof drains to the Keilim Mikveh which will be located on the ground floor. Other rough plumbing (water, drain, and gas piping) will be installed as the interior metal stud partitions are installed. This rough plumbing work should be complete by the end of this month.

Fire Protection:

Sprinkler piping installation will begin this week. The new building will be fully sprinklered.

HVAC:

A substantial amount of ductwork has already been installed, and more is on site awaiting installation. Piping for baseboard radiation will be installed, as required, before the first floor slab is poured. The five roof-top HVAC units are available and will be installed within the next couple of weeks.

Electric:

The electricians are on the job and beginning their rough electrical work under the ground floor slab and in the exterior wall and interior wall partitions.

If you haven't been able to visit the site, the above report should convey the sense that quite a bit of work has already been accomplished and that a significant amount of work will be completed over the next month. The project is on schedule, with the exterior building facade and roof to be completed withing the next month, as well much of the interior rough framing and MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) rough-in. Window installation should begin in early June, in time for sheetrock to be hung and the start of the finish work in the interior of the building.

For those of you who missed the "topping-off" ceremony on Tuesday morning, February 27, we had a bright, sunny day, and over one hundred people attended, signed off on the last beam before it was hoisted in place, and heard remarks from Rabbi Gewirtz and Aaron Feuerstein. The event was well covered by the media, including radio, TV, and newspaper coverage.

For a few weeks after the steel was topped-off, the work on site consisted mainly of steel detailing: installing and welding metal floor and roof deck, completing the welded joints on the structural steel frame, and installing stud anchors on the second floor deck (to achieve a 'composite' deck once the concrete slab is placed). Progress was not as visible as when the steel was erected, and more snow contributed to some slow-down in the work.

Progress in the last week and a half, since March 25th, has been much more dramatic. The second floor concrete slab has been placed and finished, and the rough concrete has been placed in the balcony area, awaiting further formwork and placement of the balance of the concrete in the stepped areas of the women's gallery. Metal stud framing of the exterior walls has begun, and all of the Social Hall exterior walls have been framed, as well as a large percentage of the Main Sanctuary walls. One can see clearly the openings for the windows and doors in these areas which are framed by fire-treated wood blocking (to which the window and door frames will be secured). The exterior sheathing has been installed on the rear wall of the Social Hall, along with building paper and brick ties, in anticipation of the start of masonry work in that area immediately after Pesach. Cast stone material, which will be included in the decorative banding on the facade, has been delivered to the site. Roofing material has been delivered on site and work on the roof began today, with the expectation that over half the roof (over the Social Hall and classrooms) will be in place before the Chag. HVAC ductwork has been delivered to the site and is being installed under the roof on the second floor. Roof drains have been set and the plumber is beginning to install the roof drainage piping.

On Thursday evening, March 14, the Brookline Planning Board voted to accept our latest landscaping plan and allow us to remove trees in our rear yard. Our design professionals recommended that these trees be removed to allow for the proper grading and drainage of our rear yard behind the Social Hall, and we've pledged to plant six new trees in late April as replacements. The trees have been removed and the sitework subcontractor has completed the installation of the drainage in the rear and side yards of the building and is completing the rough grading in those areas. A walk or drive by the building will help you visualize the dramatic changes that continue to take place on the site as the construction progresses.

Work on site will be suspended over Pesach and will likely not resume until Tuesday, April 16, after the last of the marathon runners have passed Coolidge Corner on the hundredth running of the Boston Marathon. When work resumes, the next activities include the completion of the roof, the beginning of brick installation, installation of underground piping, and the placement of the first floor concrete slab. In general terms, the schedule calls for the exterior facade of the building as well as the interior roughing (drywall framing and rough mechanical and electrical work) to proceed through the end of May and into early June, and then the finish work to be done over the summer months (drywall, painting, ceilings, flooring, millwork, etc.).

Our committee is reviewing both hard and soft project costs and intends to prepare an updated budget for presentation to the shul Board after Pesach, in conjunction with an updated report from the Fund Raising Committee. Important decisions still remain to be made concerning the ultimate scope of the project, particularly with regard to certain interior amenties and finishes and site improvements on the exterior of the building. In order to maintain job progress, these decisions will need to be reached by the Board by the end of April.

Structural steel erection began, as scheduled, last Wednesday morning, February 14. By Friday a few hours before Shabbat, the Social Hall framing was nearly complete, the framing for the kitchen area and second floor classrooms at the rear of the building was erected, and virtually all of the Main Sanctuary columns were standing. The first elements of the balcony framing were in place as well.

At this pace, the entire building frame will be completed this week, after which time the crane will depart from the site. The final connections of the steel and the erection of the roof and floor deck will continue over a period of a couple of weeks.

The Young Israel thanks all those who joined us Tuesday, February 27, 1996 at our "topping-off ceremony. This very special ceremony was a once-in-a- lifetime event marking the completion of the structural steel erection for the new building. All who attened were able to sign the final beam before it was hoisted into place.

Despite the abundance of snow and the cold temperatures, some productive work has been accomplished since the last update in early December. This includes additional sitework and the installation of drainage and sewer lines in the roadway area on the west side of the building (adjacent to the 50 Green Street condominium).

By mid February, we expect to see some dramatic changes on the site, as the structural steel erection is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, February 14 (right on schedule). A crane should arrive on the site that day, along with trailer-loads of structural steel for the building frame. The erection of the steel will begin in the rear of the site, in the area of the new Social Hall, and will progress to the front of the site and Green Street. Erland Construction, the general contractor, expects that Ocean Steel (the structural steel subcontractor) and its erector will have the building frame up within nine working days (weather permitting), so we can expect that the entire building frame will be up by the end of February. Once that occurs, the crane will leave the site, and work will continue to plumb the steel, complete steel connections (bolting and welding) and install metal deck on the second floor and the roof. We can expect this activity to be completed by the first week of March. With the erection of the structural steel, the form, shape and mass of the building will be readily discernible, and the next phase of construction, including the closing-in of the building (roofing, facade wall, etc.), will commence.

If all goes well, the "topping-off" ceremony should take place before the end of February, at which point the final piece of steel will be hoisted in place and connected to the structural frame. Further announcements of this event will be made in the next couple of weeks once a firm date and time are established.

With the start of structural steel erection next week, the pace of construction should accelerate and manifestations of progress on the site should be quite apparent. The project will now be moving into high gear and with the exception of a break in early April for Pesach, we expect significant continuous activity on the site until the building is completed. Now is an excellent time to accelerate the pace of our fund-raising efforts to ensure that the building can be built with all of the details conceived by the Architect and the Design and Construction Committee. Your help and financial support will be greatly appreciated.