At the big celebration Congregation Kol Shofar will throw for itself at the end of May, the main party favors will be shovels. After years of legal wrangling, the Tiburon synagogue is finally breaking ground on its long-planned remodel.
“We’re all feeling elated to have reached the point that something real is happening,” said Ron Brown, a leader of the synagogue’s Capital Campaign Committee.
The groundbreaking takes place May 31 on the Kol Shofar site. According to Brown, Kol Shofar clergy and administrative staff, many congregants and several local city and county dignitaries will be present.
The project will gut the synagogue’s sanctuary and other facilities, replacing the former middle school site with a gleaming new structure.
The construction comes after years of dispute with the Tiburon Neighborhood Coalition, which fought the project tooth and nail. Ultimately, the rulings of the Tiburon Town Council — and the wishes of Kol Shofar congregants — prevailed.
“It’s entirely behind us,” added Brown. “It got ugly for a while, but the week before last we had a meeting in the neighborhood with our contractor and construction manager. We notified the entire neighborhood and only four people showed up. If there was still concern or a lot of anger people would have come to complain.”
For the next 18 months, Kol Shofar congregants will be driving all over the area to take care of temple business. The synagogue has temporarily had to relocate its offices, religious school and sanctuary to various nearby locales while the work continues.
“Sometimes people forget where they’re going,” said Brown. “Sometimes I forget where I’m going. But we knew there would be disruption.”
The Kol Shofar groundbreaking takes place 11 a.m. May 31 at Congregation Kol Shofar, 215 Blackfield Drive, Tiburon. For more information, contact the synagogue office at (415) 388-1818.