Jewish communities back projects.

Three new community projects are being fueled by the expanding needs of Manhattan's Jewish and middle class populations. The commitment to the multi-million projects is reflective of New York City's new vibrancy and safety that continues to embrace and keep the bourgeoisie.

The projects include a new Jewish Community Center for the Upper West Side; a new temple building for the Lincoln square Synagogue; and a new community facility and Mikvah for the Upper East Side.

After years of seeking and purchasing a site, fund-raising and planning, the Jewish Community Center on the Upper West Side will hold a ground-breaking in June for its new $50 million Samuel Priest Rose Building.

Already $28 million has been raised and $4 million "is under discussion," said Debby Hirshman, the executive director for the JCC on the Upper West Side.

The site currently is leased to the Champion parking company, which also manages the indoor lot next door at the 75th Street corner.

The idea of creating a Jewish Community Center took root in the 1970's, and was revisited during the booming gentrification of the early 1980's. By 1987, a plan for the initial JCC was underway, and by 1990, the organizational structure, program needs and facility planning were in place.

Out of their current offices at 16 West 65th Street, and utilizing a $2.5 million budget, the JCC currently provides about 400 different programs at various sites throughout the Upper West Side. These services range from day-care to senior activities, and cover a wide range of secular and non-secular programming.

Both the currently offered services and local community requirements have helped to define what will go into the new building.

"It was very essential that it would be a community project, and the architects talked to over 120 people from the community," Hirshman said.

The JCC board felt it was critical to create a more inclusive community and "build bridges" between the other institutions on the Upper West Side and themselves. "So they were all part of the planning process," she said.

The Building Committee also consists of both board and community members, as well as many real estate executives. The committee is chaired by Adam Rose and Herb Rosenthal, and members include Edward Milstein, Jeff Gural, Emmanuel Stern, Steve Peck, Jeffrey Manocherian and Jeff Horowitz.

The building will be called the JCC on the Upper West Side Samuel Priest Rose Building. Samuel Priest Rose is Adam and Jonathan Rose's brother.

"The whole project has been person to person," Hirshman continued. "This is meant to be a community enterprise."

To combine the elements, they needed an architect who was not only skilled in designing the various multi-use pieces of the facility, which include a pool, a gym and an auditorium, but one that understood and could translate into design the "je ne sais quois" that Hirshman calls the "soul" of the building.

"That is the human connection increased by the architectural design of this place," she explained.

"We went through an extensive architectural search process," Hirshman said. The lead architects are AJ Diamond, Donald Schmitt & Co. Architects & Planners of Toronto; with Schuman Lichtenstein Claman Efron Architects as the New York associate. Robert Zagaroli III is the architect on the project from the latter firm.

Diamond, she said, had not only designed facilities in Israel, but had designed the "Y," the ballet theater and the public library in Toronto.

"When we walked through, it had that soul," Hirshman recalled. "[We need that to] create a sense of community and connection, and a sense of Jewish identity that is not about religion." Diamond, she continued, knows how to integrate both "the values and visions."

At this time, the design development phase is over for the 137,000 square-foot as-of-right building, which will consist of eight stories above ground and three below.

"All the programs won't fit into the building, and that's the reality," she said, indicating they will continue to site certain programs elsewhere "to go where people are."

The building will have room for a day camp, teen center, senior adult programs, a cooking school, arts and crafts, and many other programs.

This will also be the first JCC that will have a place of study, called a Beit Midrash, reflecting the fact that one of the strengths of the community has been the continuous exploration of the various Jewish movements. "We will be studying together to explore our history, and to strengthen our identities," Hirshman said.

Because the pool and gymnasium elements require a large footprint, the 100 x 100 foot 75th Street parcel was "most desirable." The JCC also did not want to displace any apartment dwellers.

Initially, the Exxon-owned land was not for sale, but some real estate industry congregants worked on the oil company until they came around. "We paid $5.3 million and closed in December of 1996," Hirshman said. "By then, we looked like heros."

It may be that the JCC Building Committee does some matchmaking with the Lincoln square Synagogue. That West Side white travertine marble temple at 69th Street and Amsterdam Avenue is gorgeous, but alas, is too small for its burgeoning programming and membership needs.

Remember, over the last five years, the nearby area has become home to the new dwellers of three Millennium towers, and Brodsky's One Columbus and Two Columbus, among many other projects.

Now the Synagogue is planning a redevelopment of its site and is searching for a compatible not-for-profit co-tenant through Vin Carrega and Neil Helman at Grubb & Ellis.

The temple has outgrown its current 25,000 square-foot building and needs 37,000 square feet for itself, while plans call for the site to be built to its full 90,000 square-foot potential.

Among other possible co-tenants is the nearby West Side Synagogue, a reconstructionist temple which purchased an 8,000 square-foot former city library at Amsterdam Avenue and 67th Street in 1995 and may now need more programming space. That space was obtained after fund-raising and purchase efforts by the late-Jack Weprin.

The community's growth is not limited to the West Side. On the other side of Central Park a movement is underway to create another Jewish community-type center around the main elements of Mikvah, child care and Shabbat.

Here, a leading force towards the development is Rabbi Ben Tzion Krafnianski, the director of the observant Chabad Lubavitch inclusionist congregation.

"We have a congregation without a synagogue," he said. "We've rented every space on the Upper East Side."

Those that now join together to share Shabbat services and dinner at the various rented spaces, however, won't be the only ones to use the new Schneerson Center For Jewish Life facilities or The Jacques and Hanna Schwalbe Mikvah now under construction at 419 East 77th Street.

Because there is no Mikvah on the Upper East Side, the modern ritual baths are expected to be visited by the women of many congregations.

The Schwalbe family is involved, said Peter Schwalbe, head of Hilson Management, because his late father built the Queens Synagogue Mikvah and was very instrumental in publishing the works of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch.

"I personally thought it would be a very fitting way to memorialize their memory," said Schwalbe of his parents. "The amazing thing is that there's incredible wealth on the Upper East Side, and they have never built a Mikvah."

Schwalbe, who is not a member of this congregation, says he is very supportive of Lubavitch because "they are very instrumental in rekindling the flames of Jewishness amongst many people that have somewhat strayed, and they do this all over the world."

The whole community is very excited about this project because it will include a Mikvah, said the Rabbi, "and that is a cornerstone of any Jewish community. There's also a real enthusiasm, especially from the younger women in the community. It's surprising. The younger generation is very excited."

Among those younger women is Sari Rosenberg of Mega Funding Mortgage, who is among those working on fund-raising towards the $4 million goal, of which $2 million has already been raised.

"It's a magnificent Mikvah," she said of the Mark Khidekel design, which uses extensive marble, stone and wood detailing and arches throughout. The facade also echoes the tablet design of the Ten Commandments, both through its windows and rooftop arches.

The Mikvah also offers a men's Mikvah, a handicapped accessible prep room and Mikvah, and a nearby children's playroom where the youngsters will be watched by an attendant. The Mikvah will also have its own private entrance.

Rosenberg is organizing a free datebook and resource guide to the Manhattan Jewish community that will be geared towards ad sales intended to fund some of the construction.

Other dedication and memorial opportunities include a $50,000 elevator, a $125,000 beauty salon, and a $1 million building dedication, among many choices.

The Center will also include a fully accredited early child care center, a youth center, an adult education institute and a 50-plus learning center.

"It's a whole community center," said Rabbi Krafnianski. "The Mikvah will be its own crown jewel."