Toco Hills Congregation Breaks Ground on New Synagogue

The congregation of Young Israel of Toco Hills has a great problem. It's been growing so fast that it now has started building a new synagogue to hold all its congregants and leave room for more.

One congregant joked the new synagogue will ensure that the congregation's "outer splendor matches its inner splendor."

But the growth of the congregation has been in serious need of a larger house of worship.

"We could not be tighter," Young Israel Executive Director Eliana Leader told North Druid Hills Patch. "Our community is growing so we need a new permanent home and need a new building."

Young Israel is an Orthodox Jewish congregation first started in 1994. Twenty years later, in August 2014, the congregation will open the doors of its new permanent synagogue on LaVista Road, between Merry and Christmas Lanes.

The groundbreaking on the new building was held on Aug. 25, and the five houses owned by Young Israel have been demolished. Until recently, Young Israel was renting out the homes. 

Leader said that in addition to the five homes, "unfortunately some trees will be coming down" as well. However, the congregation plans to replant the trees so that there are  even more than were there before.

The facility will be green in other ways as well. It will be an Earthcraft-certified building and one of the first houses of worship to ever attain that certification.