City planners to weigh Hillel at UCSD April 27

Architect’s rendering of proposed Glickman Hillel Center at UCSD

LA JOLLA (Press Release) Hillel of San Diego, a religious institution that supports Jewish college students, will present its plans for the Beverly and Joseph Glickman Hillel Center to the City of San Diego Planning Commission on April 27. The Glickman Hillel Center will provide a new permanent home for UC San Diego Hillel across the street from the campus.

“We are thrilled to be so close to making our dream of the Glickman Hillel Center a reality,” said David Michan, Hillel of San Diego Board President. “This beautiful project will help us fulfill our mission of involving Jewish students in their faith in a meaningful and lasting way.”

Located on a vacant 0.8-acre parcel bounded by La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla Scenic Way and La Jolla Scenic Drive North, the facility will be located directly across the street from UC San Diego, near The J. Craig Venter Institute for genomic research, and adjacent to a residential neighborhood.

Hillel has been working with the city and the community since 2003 to develop this project. Significant changes were made in 2009 to address comments received about the project  ̶  the size of the facility was reduced by nearly half, and the design changed from a single, large building to three smaller buildings that are similar in size or smaller than nearby homes.

“We have worked hard to design a project that will serve the needs of Hillel and also be an asset to the neighborhood,” said Rabbi David Singer, Director of UC San Diego Hillel.

The new LEED-certified project would total approximately 6,500 square feet and would provide space for religious programs in three separate, one- and two-story buildings around a central outdoor courtyard. The plans include 27 surface parking spaces, bicycle storage, and a small publicly accessible, park-like area with a bicycle and pedestrian path, bench, and water fountain. A thorough environmental review for the facility was conducted and it concluded that there will be no significant environmental impacts that will result from its development.

“The Glickman Hillel Center will be a big improvement over the vacant lot that sits there today,” said Steve Weitzen, a resident who lives near the proposed new facility. “It will beautify the area, provide a buffer between the neighborhood and the busy La Jolla Village Drive/Torrey Pines Road intersection, and will be an attractive gateway to the La Jolla community.”

Hillel offers religious programming for Jewish holidays and festivals, programs relating to Israel as the Jewish homeland, Jewish community building, and community service opportunities.

One year ago, at age 101, La Jolla resident and philanthropist Joseph “Chickie” Glickman donated the lead $5 million gift for the Beverly & Joseph Glickman Hillel Center to provide students at UC San Diego with a permanent Jewish home near campus.

After the Planning Commission votes on the project at its hearing on April 27, the project will move forward for a final decision by the San Diego City Council later this spring.

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Preceding provided by Hillel of San Diego.