Glassboro approves plan for new community center for Jewish students at Rowan University
GLASSBORO — A community center for Jewish students at Rowan University is looking ahead to construction of a purpose-built center and a residence for its rabbi at the edge of the campus.
Chabad at Rowan University plans the new center complex for Mick Drive, currently occupied by a single-family home. The property is adjacent to the Newman House at Rowan University, a Roman Catholic campus ministry on Redmond Avenue.
The Planning Board unanimously approved the plan after a public hearing Tuesday night. The residence, a townhome, and the community center, or Chabad, each will be three stories and connected to each other.
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Rabbi Hersh Loshak said Thursday project planning remains fluid but the hope is start construction towards the end of 2024. Construction itself could take a little more than a year if things proceed as expected, he said.
Chabad at Rowan University celebrated its 10th year in April. The current Chabad is in the Loshak residence on Hamilton Road, about a mile from the proposed site.
Loshak said the Jewish student population has grown here along with the general expansion of Rowan. The current center also is his family home and is out of space, he said.
“The purpose … is to have the Chabad providing traditional concepts in the local community,” attorney Robert Mintz told the board. “They have been here, as the rabbi will indicate, for almost 10 years and this is the opportunity to grow.
“The local considerations include the ability to provide kosher meals within the community, as well as within the school area,” Mintz said. “The services are not otherwise available in Glassboro, so it is a new function that will be available to the community.”
Project Engineer Lawrence DiVietro said the first floor of the new center will hold the worship, study, and gathering spaces. Eight, two-bedroom apartments will occupy the two upper floors, he said.
The center will have a kosher kitchen and dining area.
Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.
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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Big move for Chabad at Rowan, Glassboro OKs plan for new center
