Recently, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City (JCC) launched a campaign to raise 12 million dollars to renovate the aquatics center and theater. Over five years after the 2020 announcement about renovating the JCC sports complex.
According to Barry Baumfalk, the J’s chief membership and facilities officer, the renovations for the aquatics center are set to start directly after Labor Day 2026 and will be finished by Memorial Day of 2027 (as the new outdoor pool season opens). Before these renovations, on August 10th (after the Maccabi Games conclude), the White Theater renovations will begin. They will last approximately a month.
The funding for this upcoming renovation is publicized through the previously mentioned campaign called ‘Growing Our J’. The leading donors, Danielle and Sam Levine, are spearheading the fundraising campaign to bring their renovation vision to life.
Image courtesy of Barry Baumfalk.
The White Theatre is not being expanded in these renovations, but rather updated to modernize the interior and the seating in the back of the house. Baumfalk said that The J is changing the slope of the seats in the back part of the house so that those sitting in the far back row will have just as good of a seat as someone in the front row, noting that the J did amazing work building the theatre 20 years ago, and the goal is to make it great for another 20 years.
Huge renovations are planned for the aquatics center. The J plans on building an add on that will function as an indoor pool and water park. Baumfalk said, “The new pool itself is going to be located where the bar is now, and it’s going to extend out beyond the tennis courts.” The J will be permanently removing their tennis courts during this process. Over the previous summer, there were more than 30,000 estimated visits to the “pool, according to J statistics” said Baumfalk. This indoor swimming area and water park “is now going to allow families to have a place to come swim and have fun year round.”
The J’s goal for this renovation is to make their active summer members regular attendees at the J year round. Many of the summer pool visits mainly utilized the ‘play’ areas of the already existing outdoor pool. Previously, lots of these guests might not come out of season to the J pool because of the limited options for ‘entertainment’ indoors. But not anymore.
