Strategy for reviving the Social Hall (Speculation)

RECENTLY WE RECEIVED an insurance settlement to cover repairs to the basement spaces that were damaged by water from a defective fire sprinkler. Given that we not only want to fix the torn-up walls but also create a space that we can readily use (and even rent out), what steps should we now take toward reviving the Social Hall, and in what order? 

Below the jump, I sketch out an integrated approach—which represents my opinion alone. I am not speaking for Mishkon as a synagogue.…

Basic assumptions

• Times have changed since our sanctuary building was completed in 1948. From facilities-management perspective, nowadays there are two significant realities that Mishkon must responsibly manage: mobility issues and airborne-disease transmission. Translated into action, that means: 

Mishkon should not be holding any public events without offering both decent access for people with disabilities, and ventilation that significantly reduces the risk of airborne-disease transmission.

• Since 1948, Mishkon has accumulated more potentially useful stuff and/or archival material than it has room to store comfortably.

What follows from those assumptions

• We will not use the Social Hall for formal programs or meetings until there is both good access and good ventilation. 

• Every step that we take in reviving the Social Hall should be integrating accessibility and ventilation concerns.

• Striving for a quick immediate fixing up of the Social Hall is surely the most comfortable approach, because it would return the place to what most of us were already used to. However, comfort may not be our friend in this case. It might well lead us to squander our human and financial resources. This is true for three reasons: 

1. Speaking practically, having both a lift or elevator in place and a working mechanical ventilation system would make all subsequent renovation work easier, safer, and less expensive. Workers can move building materials between floors without worrying about tripping on the stairs, for example.
2. A quick-fix approach might well put us in the position later of needing to undo or redo what we do now.
3. Postponing dealing with accessibility and ventilation would send the wrong message to our members, prospective members, and to the wider world about the importance of inclusiveness, which is demonstrated via good accessibility and good ventilation. 

• We should engage an architect early on to determine where to site the vertical lift or elevator, thus enabling us to confirm (or modify) our hunches as to the configuration for improving building accessibility.

• Solving the storage space problem must be a high priority. (Stay tuned for a post on this topic!)