By Joel Magalnick, JTNews Correspondent
Eighty acres on Samish Hill in Bellingham have recently been purchased by Congregation Beth Israel. The congregation, Bellingham’s largest, had been searching for a new home for close to 10 years.
The land was purchased in conjunction with the city of Bellingham from the Wright Family Limited Partnership, a family trust, will also be used for trails and a future park. After Beth Israel deeds back a portion of the land to the city, it will end up with 14 acres in the northeast section of the parcel, which is located in the southern part of Bellingham.
Beth Israel was first formed in 1908.
The synagogue’s current building on Broadway near the center of town has been in use since 1925, but its 150 families have outgrown the space.
“It’s a wonderful old building, but it’s not growing. We’ve been bursting at the seams for a decade. Now it appears that the efforts of many are coming to realization,” said Dan Raas, a member of the synagogue’s coordinating committee.
The congregation will now focus on building plans and obtaining permits to begin construction.
Lynne MacDonald, the synagogue board’s treasurer and member of the executive committee, said that concurrently with the capital campaign, “an architectural task group has done a lot of work surveying membership” to figure out the congregation’s needs. Once those needs are compiled, the committee will solicit input and an architect to begin work on the new bulding.
The congregation has been through several changes over the past year. In addition to securing the new land, a new rabbi, Yossi Zylberberg, joined the congregation in August 2002. He too is excited about the new site.
“It’s time we had a new building that will meet the needs of a growing, progressive Jewish congregation. We have a wonderful history to look back on, and are ready to move forward with our vision for the 21st century,” he said.