Chandler Chabad Center Nearing Completion

The new Chabad Center in the Southeast Valley already is creating a buzz weeks before its scheduled opening. Formally known as the Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, this synagogue of Mediterranean-influenced architecture is expected to be completed at the end of this month.

The new Chabad center boasts as its most prominent feature a tiled, 36-foot-high octagonal tower over the sanctuary that contains 24 circular windows.

According to the synagogue’s rabbi, Mendy Deitsch, the building is getting accolades from neighbors across the Valley. The center will include a state-of-the-art preschool, tiled entryway, 450-seat sanctuary with walnut carved arc, gift shop, playground, library, five classrooms, modern kitchen and ample room for meetings, classes, workshops and lectures.

This all-encompassing house of worship being built by Kroll Contractors Inc., replete with Bible study, women’s groups and engaging youth activities, will be a social and cultural hub for the entire community. A new feature will be Cafe Nights, where there will be karaoke and comedy.

The massive 15,000-square-foot structure of this flagship Chabad synagogue, at 875 N. McClintock Drive, in Chandler, stands in sharp contrast to the 1,500-square-foot storefront the congregation currently calls home.

“We bought the land in 2003,” said Deitsch, “and have been slowly building up the capital.”

The rabbi credits the youthful dynamics of the Southeast Valley for being a major component in the success of the new building.

“As opposed to the East Coast, where there are generations of families, here we have lots of families starting out who have a lot of energy,” he said. “We’ve also found incredible donors like Michael Pollack, who in addition to being a member and a real-estate icon, has been a visionary who has been involved in every detail of the project. He has a very deep understanding about the growth of the community.”

The combined vision of Deitsch and Pollack was to create a warm, comfortable and welcoming atmosphere that people could embrace as their own.

“The Chabad movement is based on reaching out to every Jew regardless of background or affiliation,” the rabbi said. “We have about 75 percent unaffiliated Jews in the Phoenix area, so our potential is huge. This facility will enable us to create a home where Jews from all walks of life can call their own.”

When rabbi Deitsch and his wife, Shternie, moved to Arizona in 1997 from Brooklyn, N.Y., they were spiritual pioneers striving to create a thriving Jewish community in the Southwest. They wanted a young, growing community and looked all over the country, as well as internationally, before deciding to make the Southeast Valley their home.

Watching the new center come to fruition, Deitsch says, is a thrilling experience.

“At times it’s been overwhelming, but mostly exciting,” he said. “Seeing that we can now fulfill the needs of the community is tremendously empowering.”