The Prosserman Jewish Community Centre is a

Jewish Community Centre A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social clubs, social, and Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish ...

for the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

area. It is located along Bathurst Street in the

Bathurst Manor Bathurst Manor is a neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in northern Toronto in the former suburb of North York. It sits on a plateau bounded on the north by Finch Avenue West, on the west by Dufferin Street, on the east by the Don Ri ...

neighbourhood of Toronto.

History

The Bathurst Jewish Community Centre was founded in 1930 as the YMHA (Young Men's Hebrew Association). In 1953 a new facility was built, the Bloor Street "Y" at

Bloor Street Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkw ...

and

Spadina Avenue Spadina Avenue (, less commonly ) is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods. Spadina Avenue runs south ...

. It is still there today, but has been completely renovated and is now called the Miles Nadal JCC.UJA
In 1958, a new JCC campus was started to the north on Bathurst Street to meet demand from changing demographics in that corridor. The BJCC eventually contained a range of facilities and programs, including multiple athletic spaces, the Leah Posluns Theatre, Centre Camp, Kolel: The Adult Centre for Liberal Jewish Learning, the Family Resource Centre, and the

Koffler Centre of the Arts The Koffler Centre of the Arts is a broad-based cultural institution established in 1977 by Murray and Marvelle Koffler and based at Artscape Youngplace in the West Queen West area of downtown Toronto, Ontario. History Established in 1977 as part ...

. In the late 2000s, the BJCC plans were made to replace the entire complex with new buildings, which is now the Prosserman JCC.

Koffler Centre of the Arts

Opened in 1977 inside the BJCC, the "Koffler Centre of the Arts" is a broad-based cultural institution that was established by Murray and Marvelle Koffler. The Koffler Centre teaches dance, music, and visual arts; presents exhibitions of cutting-edge contemporary Canadian art; and is home to the Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Awards, the Annual Jewish Book Fair, the Koffler Chamber Orchestra, and the Stars of the 21st Century Gala. It presents concerts, film screenings, poetry, spoken word, comedy, and discussions on world issues through the lens of culture.

Leah Posluns Theatre

The Leah Polsuns Theatre was founded in 1977 as a live performance venue at the then BJCC. The 444 seat theatre closed when the BJCC was being re-developed in 2009 and reopened in 2020 at 300+ seats venue at the new Prosserman Jewish Community Centre. The theatre is named for Leah Polsuns (1901-1971), wife of Toronto businessman and philanthropist Louis Polsuns.

Centre Camp

Lipa Green Centre for Jewish Community Services

While not part of the JCC itself, the Lipa Green Centre for Jewish Community Services had a building on the same property as the BJCC. When the BJCC was redeveloped, plans called for the Lipa Green Centre, itself having just undergone a major renovation, to be connected by various bridges and atriums to the main JCC complex.

Sherman Campus/Prosserman JCC

In 2007, the UJA of Greater Toronto announced plans to demolish the BJCC and build a newer, more advanced, and larger complex on the same site. The name given to the lot and the all of the proposed buildings therein was the "Sherman Campus". In 2009 the BJCC was demolished and in its place started construction on the Prosserman Jewish Community Centre. The new JCC was named for businessman and philanthropist Martin Prosserman (1931-2019) whom gifted $12 million to the construction. The first phase (The Donald Gales Family Pavilion) was completed in 2010. The first phase of the Prosserman Centre is considerably smaller than the BJCC and offers very limited programming. It is the current home to the Koffler gallery for the arts, and has absorbed many of the employees and programs offered by the BJCC, however, many more people were laid off when the building was demolished. The Prosserman JCC currently houses a limited health centre. UJA continues to fundraise to begin the second phase of construction.

References

External links

Prosserman Jewish Community Centre
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Toronto Community centres in Canada Jewish organizations based in Canada Jewish Community Center Jews and Judaism in Ontario