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‘Booming’ Young Israel of Century City undergoing major expansion

The Pico-Robertson Modern Orthodox congregation Young Israel of Century City (YICC) is undergoing a $10 million expansion of its synagogue campus that will more than double its physical size, from 9,675 square feet to 20,700 square feet.
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June 29, 2016

The Pico-Robertson Modern Orthodox congregation Young Israel of Century City (YICC) is undergoing a $10 million expansion of its synagogue campus that will more than double its physical size, from 9,675 square feet to 20,700 square feet.

The project, expected to be completed by mid-August 2017, involves the renovation of the synagogue’s sanctuary; the construction of a youth library, classrooms, administrative offices and a beit midrash (house of study); and an expanded kitchen, according to synagogue officials. While construction proceeds, YICC is holding services at Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy and its clergy office is operating out of rented facilities at a nearby Citibank building .

YICC Senior Rabbi Elazar Muskin said the construction was necessary to accommodate YICC’s growth. When he was hired 30 years ago, the synagogue had fewer than 50 families, he said. Now it serves about 500.

“The shul is booming. The shul has grown in leaps and bounds. It’s a major center for Orthodox Jewry in L.A.,” he said. “We needed a new facility, an expanded facility to meet the needs of this continuously growing community. It’s right there at the heart of the community, and I think it’s going to meet that need.”

Muskin said that approximately 60 percent of the $10 million needed for the project has been raised so far. 

“We still have to do major fundraising within the synagogue. We are doing it now,” he said. “The shul is behind it. We’ll be able to, with God’s help, make this a real success.”

The need to raise more money has not stopped construction from moving forward. On a recent Monday morning, a Caterpillar tractor was parked inside the fenced-off property, construction workers in hard hats were operating another vehicle and an artistic rendering of the new campus was displayed on scaffolding facing Pico Boulevard.

The decision to expand wasn’t realized overnight. In 2011, YICC purchased a Supercuts hair salon at Pico and Rexford Drive, adjacent to its Teichman Family Youth Wing.

“We were always eyeing that piece of property that abutted our original building. Supercuts left in 2011. We took it over and used it for multipurpose [reasons]. We rented it out. We started using it, I would say, in August 2015, until we ripped it all down just a month and a half ago,” Muskin said.

YICC has demolished two buildings as part of the new project, also tearing down the Teichman wing. The only building still standing is the sanctuary, which is undergoing an interior renovation. 

“There will be a whole new sanctuary, an updated, beautiful new sanctuary,” Muskin said.

YICC hired Millie and Severson general contractors and the architectural firm Gruen Associates for the job.

The work already has unearthed some interesting finds, including several previously unknown, vintage advertisements painted onto the west-facing wall of the YICC sanctuary building. The ads are for Canada Dry Spur Cola, Madame Allue’s French Laundry and Leo’s Liquors.

“It’s really cool,” Muskin said of the discoveries, which are photographed in an album YICC is maintaining as a means of keeping its membership abreast of the construction effort.

YICC, affiliated with the National Council of Young Israel, an umbrella organization providing various services to more than 100 Orthodox synagogues, is one of several Young Israel synagogues in the Greater Los Angeles area. 

It is also one of several major modern Orthodox congregations in the neighborhood, including Beth Jacob Congregation and B’nai David-Judea. The growing Orthodox influence in the area is evident not just in the expansion of YICC but in a new synagogue, Adas Torah, being built nearby, at 9040 W. Pico. 

Additionally, YULA Boys High School, also located on Pico, is set to undergo a major expansion that will include the construction of a gymnasium, an underground parking facility and additional classrooms. Construction is set to begin this summer, according to Rabbi Dov Emerson, head of school.

At YICC, past president and current board member Mark Goldenberg is excited about what the congregation’s expansion bodes for the future of the shul as well as for the larger Pico-Robertson community. 

“It’s going to be a gorgeous addition to the Pico-Robertson area, a gorgeous addition to the community. And it will service the entire L.A. community and not just the Orthodox community, but it will be a place people can really use,” Goldenberg said. “I think it will be great for the neighborhood.”

Muskin echoed his enthusiasm. 

“It’s way overdue,” the rabbi said. “Anybody who’s had any connection with YICC knows it’s way overdue.” 

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