Chabad Center For Jewish Life Breaks Ground In Downtown St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The Chabad Center of Jewish Life broke ground Sunday on its new state-of-the-art facility in downtown St. Petersburg.

“Historic day indeed,” the Chabad Jewish Center of Greater St. Petersburg wrote in a Facebook post. “Thank you to all the friends who came out to celebrate the groundbreaking. … Thank you to all the visionaries for your vision making this dream become a reality!”

The Chabad Center purchased the vacant lot at 533 4th Street N. for $1.7 million in 2019, the Tampa Bay Times said.

The two-story, 13,000-square-foot center will include a sanctuary, social hall, classrooms, kosher kitchen, library and rooftop deck, according to St. Pete Rising.

“The Center will be dedicated to providing education, outreach and social programming, and it will serve as a nurturing and welcoming place where history is shared, traditions are passed down, and community conversations are held,” Mayor Ken Welch wrote in a Facebook post. “In the name of Jewish heritage, faith, culture and community, this is inclusive progress.”

At the groundbreaking, the mayor issued a proclamation to honor May as Jewish American Heritage Month.