APRIL 10TH FACILITY SEARCH UPDATE

Dear Friends,

As you know, we have been looking for a new location for Ohr HaTorah, since Faith Tabernacle Church has chosen not to renew our lease. As we informed you, we saw our options as being a) purchasing a facility, b) finding a similar arrangement as we have now with another church , and c) least optimally, accepting an interim arrangement that would provide less than our current arrangement and would impede our needs for programming.

We are happy to announce that it now seems possible to purchase our own facility. Beth Torah (Conservative) congregation of Mar Vista recently merged with Adat Shalom of Westwood. Their former facility is for sale. The building is on the corner of Venice Blvd. and Barrington Ave. They initially asked $4.75 million and we were able to reach an agreement at $3.8 million, a significant reduction. We now have approximately 45 days to thoroughly inspect the facility and, most importantly, raise the funds needed to complete the purchase.

The building meets our criteria for a home perfectly, and gives us the opportunity to create a center for Jewish Life and Learning on the Westside which Rabbi Finley has often talked about and which has been a part of the vision for Ohr HaTorah since its inception. It has a large sanctuary, rooms for our religious school, a library, a kitchen and dining space as well as office space. The building is in need of a facelift and overall upgrades, but the 'bones' of the building are good.

For our synagogue, we believe this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The building is dramatically less expensive than building on raw land or renovating an office building or warehouse. It is also zoned for religious use, which in itself is extremely valuable, as municipalities are now reluctant to approve such zoning as it does not bring needed tax revenues to the city coffers. We are excited to have the opportunity to provide a much needed home for Jewish life in the South Santa Monica/Venice/Mar Vista area.

Again, we have 45 days in which to raise the money needed to purchase the building. Before we felt confident to make the offer, we secured a healthy portion of the money in pledges from a few families. However, we are looking to our congregants to step up and help make this dream a reality.

We will need the commitment of our entire congregation to bring this opportunity to fruition.

Time is truly of the essence. We will soon begin publicizing a more formalized – and by necessity, expedited – capital campaign. Please begin to consider what you can contribute. Additionally, if someone you know (a person, family or foundation) is able to contribute to this endeavor in a meaningful way, please contact us immediately.

The chair of the Building Committee is Arny Porath, who can be reached at arny@ohrhatorah.org or 310.826.3174.

Many thanks,

Arny Porath Facility Committee Chair	David Mamet Facility Committee Co-Chair
Sheri Porath Rockwell Officer in Charge of Facility Committee	Sheila Coop President