New Oshman JCC park, pavilion to serve as ‘gathering place’

Construction has begun on a park and multi-purpose building — the final pieces of the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center’s master plan.

The work’s targeted completion date is early next year.

A park with a turf field, outdoor seating and a fire pit open for public use, and a two-story pavilion available for private rentals, will be added above the outer parking lot at the southeast corner of the Taube Koret Campus in Palo Alto.

Zack Bodner, CEO of the Oshman Family JCC, said the addition will serve as a “gathering place in Palo Alto for friends, neighbors and members to enjoy.”

“While designed for enhanced programs at the OFJCC, the park will be open for the entire community to use and enjoy, and the pavilion will be a beautiful new venue for life cycle events and meetings,” Bodner said in a statement. “There will be many community-wide events held here too, from summer movie nights to holiday celebrations to fairs and festivals.” Oshman representatives say the campus will operate as usual throughout construction, which is expected to have minimal impact on area traffic and parking.

The park and multipurpose building were planned as part of the $270 million project that established the community center and Moldaw Residences for seniors in 2009, but funding for them had fallen short.

“Now, thanks to the generosity of donors in our community, the long planned pavilion and park can finally be built, and we will have a beautiful community space that can accommodate everything from weddings and cultural events to soccer games to barbecues,” said Sharon Leslie, chair of the Pavilion and Park Task Force and past president of the Oshman Family JCC board.

Oshman representatives say the project is funded entirely through community contributions and no membership fees or program tuition will be spent on it.