 "Photo: Stacy Welkowitz")
About 300 students, alumni and patrons from as far as California and as near as Bay State Road attended the Florence and Chafetz Hillel House belated Open House and Jazz Brunch Sunday.
The new Hillel House will be completed in January after experiencing construction delays that pushed back the original opening date over the summer.
The delay has been primarily due to minor construction details, such as the specialized materials used, said Hillel construction head John Barton of Steffan Bradley Associates.
"The project got underway in March 2003," he said. "The job is very detailed. The number of changes has been the biggest difficulty. There are a lot of specialty materials, like Italian granite and Italian tile, and granite and cut stone from India."
But construction worker Jamie Bonarti said some of the delays experienced had to do with the specific material Boston University wanted to use.
"They changed the brick," he said. "It took them two months to figure out what they wanted."
Barton said the university was concerned with the appearance of the building alongside other Bay State Road brownstones and changed its mind after the construction had begun.
"We started with Endicott Plum brick, but BU didn't like that," he said. "Now it's brick color, which blends in more with the neighborhood."
The opening event, hosted by Hillel Director Rabbi Joseph Polak, began with a 13-minute video presentation about the past, present and future of Hillel House and featured photos from the construction of the old building in 1954.
"This is a celebration of our progress of putting this building up," Polak said.
Donna Kalikow, vice president of the BU Hillel Board, followed the video presentation by talking about the students involved at Hillel.
"Students are the story," she said. "It's all for them and their leadership and creativity. This is just a building. Your story is just beginning to unfold and I can't wait to tell it on your behalf."
The pinnacle of the presentation came when Irwin Chafetz, for which the Florence and Chafetz Hillel House is named, spoke about the importance of Hillel.
"This is a microcosm of the Jewish community," he said. "This building has a soul and is good things for the Jewish people."
Closing the ceremony, Polak said Jews of the past were wary of identifying themselves with a nationality, but now "students are comfortable with identifying as Americans."
"We are living in a very difficult time for Jews in America because we are accepted like never before and are identifying as Americans," he said.
A kosher brunch accompanied by a jazz band and tours of the new building followed the opening ceremonies.
Polak said the new building is twice the size of the old structure, which may be used for the BU Academy in the future.
The new Hillel offers three large student study lounges, art galleries, a grand dining hall, a large catering kitchen and three synagogues, one for each sect of Judaism.
One of Polak's favorite features of the building is its location on campus, which he said will help attendance because "students attract students."
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Lili Nelson said she was pleased with the new building.
"It's breathtaking," she said. "I think it's going to benefit the Jewish community a lot. It's time for a new building."
Director of Student Activities Kip Lombardo said, "[The old building] is too small. There's not enough room for religious activities or to hang out."
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