Evelyn Rubenstein Community Center breaks ground on expansion project

The Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center has officially broken ground on its $50 million expansion and renovation project.

The community center held a groundbreaking ceremony 2 p.m. Jan. 31, which included in-person and virtual programming, preceded by morning family activities including spray painting and chalking designated areas that will be part of the expansion’s tear down.

“This is a very special moment,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner during the ceremony, one of several speakers who highlighted the community center’s transition from planning to construction. “I simply couldn’t imagine Houston without the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center.”

Construction will consist of a new 126,000 square-foot, three-story facility, with 27,000 square feet of renovations to the existing center.

Also included in the project is the demolition of the Velva G and H. Fred Levine Jewish Federation Building — located on the ERJCC property — to make way for a new building for the Jewish Federation that will be built on the north end of the community center property on the old building’s existing footprint.

The community center will remain open through the 20-month construction period, and will utilize the Joe Levit Campus on South Braeswood Boulevard and the Merfish Teen Center on South Rice Avenue for on-going programming and activities. The center will also transition its fitness facility into the gymansium during construction and will continue to offer a variety of virtual programs.