AUSTIN, Texas — Austin's Jewish community is celebrating the expansion and renovation of a community center in the northwest part of the city.
Shalom Austin held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday morning to mark the grand opening of its newly expanded and renovated Dell Jewish Community Center. The center is named after major donors Michael and Susan Dell, whose foundation matched $6.24 million of the over $25 million Shalom Austin raised during its "Generations" capital campaign.
The center, located at the Dell Jewish Community Campus on Hart Lane, is two stories and 37,805 square feet. According to Shalom Austin, the center now includes a state-of-the-art fitness center, café, education center, meeting rooms, all-gender restrooms and a living room.
A new aquatic center, renovated locker rooms, tennis and pickleball courts, a revamped community hall, preschool and other upgrades opened last year.
Shalom Austin said Monday's ribbon-cutting ceremony included a traditional blessing from the Austin Jewish Clergy and the hanging of a mezuzah, "a visible sign and symbol to all those who enter that a sense of Jewish identity and commitment exists within."
Shalom Austin CEO Rabbi Daniel A. Septimus, Michael and Susan Dell, Mayor Kirk Watson, Councilmember Alison Alter (District 10) and others were at the ceremony.
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