Chabad in SC’s Capital Finds Promising New Location

When Rabbi Hesh Epstein went searching for a location for a new synagogue, Decker Boulevard was the obvious place to look.

It runs alongside neighborhoods where many in the orthodox Jewish community live.

The commercial tract was reasonably priced. And it’s close to Fort Jackson, where Jewish trainees were in need of a spiritual home.

So three months ago, Epstein and his growing congregation moved in to an abandoned Blockbuster Video store, making Chabad South Carolina an encouraging new presence along the crumbling suburban corridor.

Epstein, 49, wants to create a “warm and protected” environment within the walls of the new synagogue, which counts 40 families as members.

Already, they have tinted display windows and put up heavy blinds to muffle distractions from five lanes of traffic outside.
They have built a fenced playground on the side of the building.

That’s just the start.

By year’s end, the Jewish congregation will have spent $300,000 to renovate the property, inside and out.

The investment in nearby communities could be even greater. Many orthodox Jews don’t drive to services, so as the synagogue grows, new members may invest in housing within walking distance. They may create more foot traffic for nearby restaurants and shops.

Just inside the front door of Chabad South Carolina is a mockup of a landscaping plan. It would break up asphalt parking with 137 shrubs and two dozen trees. “As you can see,” Epstein said, “we’re surrounded by a sea of asphalt.”

If Epstein had his druthers, Decker Boulevard’s electrical wires would be buried and grassy medians installed, amenities that he said would make residents feel better about their community and leave visitors with a good impression, too.

That $20 million project is included in the county’s long-range plan for Decker, though no funding is available.

Inside the synagogue, a basic architectural drawing shows how the interior space will be divided to make way for a library and a museum honoring the service of Jewish chaplains in the military.

James Manning, volunteer president of the Decker Boulevard Business Coalition, said Epstein has joined the elders of a Korean church along Decker in a mission to improve their surroundings.

“It takes another empty box that’s well-recognized in that area — everybody knows where the Blockbuster was — and brings another viable opportunity, with people who are community-based,” said Manning, president of the Brookfield neighborhood, right around the corner.

Pedestrian safety is on the minds of parents with the death earlier this month of an 11-year-old boy, a student at Dent Middle School who was crossing Decker to go home after school. There’s been talk of a second school-crossing guard.

“I don’t know what the speed limit is here, but nobody goes the speed limit,” Epstein said. “If anything could be done to slow it down, that would be better.”