The future one step closer as Sherman Campus breaks ground

By Daniel Horowitz--A piece of Jewish Toronto history was written on Sunday, October 14 with the groundbreaking of the Sherman Campus.

The Sherman Campus – slated for completion in the fall of 2011 - will be a unique centre of community services located on 27.5 acres adjacent to the Don Valley ravine on Bathurst, north of Sheppard.

Named after Toronto philanthropists Barry and Honey Sherman (pictured at left with their children at the groundbreaking), the campus will be home to Jewish organizations and agencies dedicated to building community within a vibrant hub of cultural, educational, athletic and recreational activities.

While the campus will service the approximately 200,000 Jews living in the GTA, it will also be open to the broad community including people of all faiths and cultural backgrounds. The site currently houses the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre (BJCC), The Koffler Centre and the Leah Posluns Theatre, which will be completely re-built, and The Lipa Green Building for Jewish Community Services, which will undergo a major renovation.

The groundbreaking of The Sherman Campus is a milestone in UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s visionary $350 million Tomorrow Campaign, chaired by Gerald Schwartz and Larry Tanenbaum. The campaign, which is the largest non-profit infrastructure development in Canada, is building three centres of Jewish life in the Greater Toronto area. The groundbreaking of the 50 acre Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Jewish Community Campus in Vaughan took place in May, 2005. In the downtown core, the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre completed its renovation in November, 2004, and The Wolfond Centre for Jewish Campus Life opened in February, 2004.

“Today we write a new chapter in the history of our community and this outstanding city,” UJA Federation board chair David Engel told the approximately 400 community members who assembled for the historic event under a large white tent in a parking lot belonging to the current BJCC. “Fifty years ago, when we first broke ground on this site, who could have envisioned a Greater Toronto Jewish population of close to 200,000? Who could have predicted that Bathurst street north to Newmarket would flourish as a corridor of Jewish life?”

The groundbreaking of Sherman Campus is the culmination of 7 years of planning and envisioning by some of Toronto’s most notable leaders. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Engel honoured Wilfred Posluns, Al and Malka Green, the Martin Prosserman Family, Murray & Marvelle Koffler & Family, Barry & Honey Sherman and the Don Gales Family for their vision and commitment to making the Sherman Campus a reality.

“This historic groundbreaking speaks to leadership that boldly dreams, and to a community which is committed to building thriving centres of excellence that reflect our collective values, culture, history and ultimately, our future,” said Peter Cohen, chair of the committee overseeing The Sherman Campus development.

“We are investing in the community and in the future,” said UJA Federation president and CEO Ted Sokolsky. “This country welcomed us as immigrants and this is our gift.”