Jewish Federation moving out

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- The Jewish Federation Campus, which for years has served

as a hub for community activities, will move to a new and improved

building in Irvine by the end of next year, administrators decided

Friday.

The federation’s board of directors voted unanimously to sell the

current 40,000-square-foot campus on East Baker Street and donate most of

the money to the new Samueli Campus to be built on Bonita Canyon Drive in

Irvine.

The project, which will cost an estimated $20 million, is expected to

be completed by the end of 2003, said Charles Karp, president of the

Jewish Federation.

The new 180,000-square-foot building to be constructed on 20 acres

will house all the agencies that now use the federation’s Costa Mesa

campus, he said.

With more than four times the square footage, the facility will easily

house, among other amenities, a health club, several spacious meeting

rooms and an auditorium, Karp said.

“This is a huge project,” he said. “It’s going to be a communitywide

effort and an extensive campaign.”

The federation houses several organizations, including the Jewish

Community Center, Jewish Family Service, Anti-Defamation League and

Jewish Agency for Israel.

Irvine seemed attractive in large part because the site was donated by

the Samueli family, Karp said. The land was sold to the Samuelis by the

Irvine Co.

Karp said officials hope the move will be a “win-win situation for

everybody.”

The new campus is advantageous because it will be customized for the

Jewish community, said Debbie Shapiro, program director for the Orange

County Hillel Foundation, which is also on the federation’s campus.

“We’ll also be closer to UC Irvine, which is our major student base,”

she said. Hillel promotes Jewish activities on college campuses

throughout the nation.

The federation has always been a “tremendous asset for all Jews of

Orange County,” said Rabbi Reuben Mintz of the Chabad Jewish Center in

Newport Beach.

“We, too, work closely with them,” he said. “They primarily raise

funds to support various organizations -- both local and abroad. I’m sure

the new facility will be extremely beneficial to the Jewish community.”

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .