At Last: Construction Set to Start in June

After years of planning, Temple Micah has hired a contractor to oversee a major building expansion that will provide space for more than a dozen additional multi-use classrooms, an enlarged social hall with flexible space, more offices for staff, and an enhanced galleria and board room to facilitate services and onegs.

A celebratory groundbreaking ceremony is set for June 1 and construction is expected to start early this summer.

Board President Betsy Broder said the expansion is a key milestone in the congregation's 45-year history and con- firms "a vision of Temple Micah as a growing and vibrant community." It is a move, she said, that helps "to build the future of Judaism."

"We've crossed the Red Sea, the Promised Land is in sight, but we have a long way to go," said a member who has worked through-out the multi-year effort to realize the proposed addition.

The temple board voted to proceed with the $3.2 million project at a special meeting March 11. Broder signed the contract March 19.

After reviewing competitive bids, the board selected Humphrey Rich Construction Group (HR) of Gaithersburg, Md., to be the general contractor.

Plans call for much of the most disruptive work to be completed during the summer. Work will be conducted simultaneously on the classrooms at the building's north end and on offices in the south portion. A fire suppression sprinkler system is to be installed throughout the existing and new portions of the building.

Robert Weinstein, a temple member and one of the project architects, explained how the contract seeks to minimize disruption of religious observances, school and other programs during construction. He said HR is barred from working from late Friday afternoons to Saturday afternoons. When religious school resumes Sept. 7, work in the existing building will be halted during school hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, on Sundays and in the social hall Friday mornings. For b'nai mitzvah, the sanctuary, social hall, galleria, and kitchen must be clean and usable starting on Thursday afternoons. Members of the building committee, which is overseeing the project, will participate in weekly progress meetings with the contractor.

The work is expected to be completed early next year, barring unexpected delays.

Exterior views of the proposed expansion and floor plans are on the website.

Details of the staging of work are currently under discussion with HR. When the dirt begins to fly, temple office functions are likely to be relocated to the ground floor while the new offices are being prepared. The staff also is expected to telecommute at times.

HR was one of four general contractors that submitted comprehensive bids. HR's work in the Washington area includes a substantial interior renovation of the Marriott-Wardman Park Hotel in Woodley Park, construction of numerous branches for Chevy Chase Bank, and projects for the AFL-CIO and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). A committee member noted that HR, which is "nearly 100 percent union," performs a substantial amount of its work using its own crews and holds down costs by limiting its use of subcontractors. Founded in 2002, HR reported revenues of $70 million last year.

The first major step in the expansion process will be to order items with long-time leads, starting with steel, staircases (built to order), and windows. Building permits were approved by the District of Columbia late last year.

Bill Nussbaum, a building committee member and board vice president, noted that the board imposed requirements on the contractor to minimize disruption of temple life. But Nussbaum, a seasoned real estate and development lawyer and consultant, said that anyone who has renovated or expanded a home knows that "construction is messy and there will be bumps along the way."

Unexpected developments can upset even the most meticulous plan. Although the contract sets strict rules regarding access to the building and for cleanup at the end of each work day, evidence of construction activity will be apparent, possibly even during life-cycle events.

The proposed project was delayed for more than a year after a construction boom and skyrocketing costs pushed projected expenses almost beyond reach. Further, it took nine months to obtain necessary building permits. Following a successful supplementary capital campaign that raised some $1 million in additional pledges, the board voted to put the project out for competitive bids. As a result, said Broder, "We are much better off now than we would have been if we had been able to proceed a year ago."

To inform the board how much money actually would be available for the project, David W. and Joel A., treasurer, led a thorough review of temple accounts, tallies of pledges made, paid and pending from the capital campaigns, and cash balances.

The board then determined that the total, $3.2 million, was enough to pay for the key elements of the proposed expansion. Three long-time members of the building committee--chairman Harry S.r, Nussbaum, and Ann S.--were joined late last year by Ilan Scharfstein and Jared B.. Broder and Weinstein serve ex officio.