Construction News
We want to keep our membership and constituency well informed of our progress, so are regularly providing updates on Congregation B’nai Israel’s renovation and expansion activities taking place from now through the summer .
March 9, 2017
Exciting News: Ground Breaking on Congregation B’nai Israel has taken place!
Following many months of planning, fundraising, and work with the architect, engineers, Daly City Building Department and a volunteer committee to review contractors’ bids, we are now moving rapidly into high gear on the renovation and expansion of Congregation B’nai Israel. The construction work is tightly scheduled over the coming months. Your prayers, as well as ongoing volunteer and financial support from all our community, will continue to ensure our success!
Preliminary information follows, and will be regularly updated with news items as they develop relevant to the construction and our use of the building. Click on the “Construction Photos” link for visuals! (Thank you to Marc Khedr for his excellent photojournalism).
Construction benchmarks:
November 7, 2016
Permit & Construction Activities
Permit Approved - Congratulations and Mazel Tov!
We are excited to announce that following numerous delays imposed by the Daly City Building Department and two rounds of plan check comments and responses, the City of Daly City has approved our plans submitted for the renovation and expansion of Congregation B’nai Israel. This effort took many long hours of hard work and coordination between the KJA Campaign Chairman David Ovadia, who is a licensed civil engineer and a structural engineer; Martin Bernstein, the project’s architect; Robert Steuer, its civil engineer; and the Daly City Building Dept.
Daly City requires that the permit be issued to the person doing the work. We, or our general contractor, will obtain the permits upon presentation of the issued letter and payments of the fees required, approximately $16k.
Construction Planning
Moving rapidly forward, we have compiled a list of contractors and have started the process to solicit bids. Engaging in all due diligence, we began our search with ten contractors and have reduced that list to four who have now expressed interest in bidding. The project will be in two phases: Phase One deals with the approved expansion plan, including a new ADA bathroom and a new kitchen. Phase Two deals with other items such as maintenance; the repair of the existing building; upgrades/face lift in the sanctuary and existing bathrooms; and repairs needed to the roof, wood rot around the high windows, and other areas.
We have begun the vetting process by providing the competing contractors with the approved Phase One drawings, as well as the drawings for Phase Two recently completed by the architect. We are conducting individual walk-throughs and meetings to explain the scope of the work to the bidding contractors, who will review the plans and specifications and request any clarifications needed to submit their bids.
The bidding process will take three to four weeks. Our objective is to select the contractor who will best suit our needs and who will meet our schedule requirements and budget constraints. We will keep the congregation updated on the progress of construction planning, including the date we expect to break ground.
The Construction Phase – Ensuring Continuity for Shabbat Observances and Holiday Celebrations
Knowing that we will not be able to use our Sanctuary for six-seven months during the construction and renovation phases, we are developing a plan to ensure our congregation’s access to locations for Shabbat Services and other community simchas. We are working with Rabbi Marvin Goodman, Rabbi in Residence at the Jewish Community Federation and Director of its Synagogue-Federation Partnership Program, to identify nearby synagogues that are willing to host our congregation at special monthly Shabbat Services designed to bring our members together in closer contact with other Jewish communities. In addition, we are also seeking volunteers to host Shabbat Services in their homes, and will rent facilities as needed during the construction phases. If you are able to host a Shabbat Service in your home, please contact Sarine Moussa at 650-255-1606 to provide us with details. Your help is urgently needed, as is the help of our entire community to ensure we can continue to meet as a fully engaged community, during its renewal and its expansion.
September 18, 2016
Permit & Construction Activities
Permit Process
We’re making great progress. We have submitted building plans and calculations to the Daly City Building Department and have received our first set of plan check comments, to which we have responded. We are awaiting responses back from the Building Department. It’s likely that there will be a second round of comments and conditions. Check back here for updates in late September/early October.
Construction Process
We are compiling a list of potential contractors and will select the top five qualified firms to request bid proposals. We anticipate completing our evaluation of bid proposals by the end of October and awarding a contract in November, for groundbreaking in December.
See Architect’s drawings on this site for more information about the expansion and renovation plans.
March 9, 2017
Exciting News: Ground Breaking on Congregation B’nai Israel has taken place!
Following many months of planning, fundraising, and work with the architect, engineers, Daly City Building Department and a volunteer committee to review contractors’ bids, we are now moving rapidly into high gear on the renovation and expansion of Congregation B’nai Israel. The construction work is tightly scheduled over the coming months. Your prayers, as well as ongoing volunteer and financial support from all our community, will continue to ensure our success!
Preliminary information follows, and will be regularly updated with news items as they develop relevant to the construction and our use of the building. Click on the “Construction Photos” link for visuals! (Thank you to Marc Khedr for his excellent photojournalism).
Construction benchmarks:
- February 6th: Contractor selected and contract signed. GEM Builders was awarded the contract to renovate and expand Congregation B’nai Israel following a highly competitive selection process.
- February 6th: Building permit obtained from the Daly City Building Department.
- February 27th: Ground Broken at the site.
- March 7th: Kick off meeting with Contractor, Architect, Civil Engineer and David Ovadia.
- March 7th: Underground plumbing inspection sign-off by the Daly City Building Department.
- March 10th: Scheduled placement of steel reinforcements for the building foundation and slab. Observation by Civil Engineer and David Ovadia.
- March 13th: Daly City Building Department Inspection scheduled.
- Week of March 13th: Concrete to be poured.
- March 16th: Begin lay out and rough plumbing for new ADA bathroom.
- March 20th: Begin lay out and rough plumbing for new kitchen.
- Week of March 20th: Begin framing of shell for new synagogue addition.
- March 15th: Vacate storage room at building entrance.
- March 19th: Vacate Kitchen and adjacent area.
- Food preparation and service between March 19th and April 16th: During these weeks prior to the date interior construction begins in the Sanctuary, lunch must be very light following the Shabbat service, requiring minimum preparation and cleaning. We will not have the use of the kitchen during this time. No food may remain on the premises and must be removed after lunch.
- Handling of Torahs between March 11th and April 15th: During these weeks, all Torahs except for one or two shall be moved and stored at volunteers’ homes, including those of Rachel Saddik and Esther El Kosdsi. After April 15th, all remaining Torahs will be removed and securely stored away from the site, and will be returned after construction is completed before the high holidays. Thank you to all volunteers who participate in this sacred task.
- April 16th: We urgently need many volunteers from the community to help empty out the building and ready it for interior construction. This major effort will require the removal of our oriental rugs and selected other furnishings from the sanctuary by April 17th. Thank you to Marc Khedr for coordinating this effort. Please contact Marc at 650-766-6006 (mkhedr69@aol.com), or David Ovadia at 415-999-4435 (davidovadia62@gmail.com) to volunteer your time and strong arms.
- We are working with several synagogues to develop a schedule for worship in alternate locations, and will also be scheduling services in members’ homes and possibly in rented spaces. More information and updates will be provided in upcoming Shabbat services, in e-newsletters, and on the website.
- We hope to have a preliminary schedule by the end of March.
November 7, 2016
Permit & Construction Activities
Permit Approved - Congratulations and Mazel Tov!
We are excited to announce that following numerous delays imposed by the Daly City Building Department and two rounds of plan check comments and responses, the City of Daly City has approved our plans submitted for the renovation and expansion of Congregation B’nai Israel. This effort took many long hours of hard work and coordination between the KJA Campaign Chairman David Ovadia, who is a licensed civil engineer and a structural engineer; Martin Bernstein, the project’s architect; Robert Steuer, its civil engineer; and the Daly City Building Dept.
Daly City requires that the permit be issued to the person doing the work. We, or our general contractor, will obtain the permits upon presentation of the issued letter and payments of the fees required, approximately $16k.
Construction Planning
Moving rapidly forward, we have compiled a list of contractors and have started the process to solicit bids. Engaging in all due diligence, we began our search with ten contractors and have reduced that list to four who have now expressed interest in bidding. The project will be in two phases: Phase One deals with the approved expansion plan, including a new ADA bathroom and a new kitchen. Phase Two deals with other items such as maintenance; the repair of the existing building; upgrades/face lift in the sanctuary and existing bathrooms; and repairs needed to the roof, wood rot around the high windows, and other areas.
We have begun the vetting process by providing the competing contractors with the approved Phase One drawings, as well as the drawings for Phase Two recently completed by the architect. We are conducting individual walk-throughs and meetings to explain the scope of the work to the bidding contractors, who will review the plans and specifications and request any clarifications needed to submit their bids.
The bidding process will take three to four weeks. Our objective is to select the contractor who will best suit our needs and who will meet our schedule requirements and budget constraints. We will keep the congregation updated on the progress of construction planning, including the date we expect to break ground.
The Construction Phase – Ensuring Continuity for Shabbat Observances and Holiday Celebrations
Knowing that we will not be able to use our Sanctuary for six-seven months during the construction and renovation phases, we are developing a plan to ensure our congregation’s access to locations for Shabbat Services and other community simchas. We are working with Rabbi Marvin Goodman, Rabbi in Residence at the Jewish Community Federation and Director of its Synagogue-Federation Partnership Program, to identify nearby synagogues that are willing to host our congregation at special monthly Shabbat Services designed to bring our members together in closer contact with other Jewish communities. In addition, we are also seeking volunteers to host Shabbat Services in their homes, and will rent facilities as needed during the construction phases. If you are able to host a Shabbat Service in your home, please contact Sarine Moussa at 650-255-1606 to provide us with details. Your help is urgently needed, as is the help of our entire community to ensure we can continue to meet as a fully engaged community, during its renewal and its expansion.
September 18, 2016
Permit & Construction Activities
Permit Process
We’re making great progress. We have submitted building plans and calculations to the Daly City Building Department and have received our first set of plan check comments, to which we have responded. We are awaiting responses back from the Building Department. It’s likely that there will be a second round of comments and conditions. Check back here for updates in late September/early October.
Construction Process
We are compiling a list of potential contractors and will select the top five qualified firms to request bid proposals. We anticipate completing our evaluation of bid proposals by the end of October and awarding a contract in November, for groundbreaking in December.
See Architect’s drawings on this site for more information about the expansion and renovation plans.