Rendering reveals vision for Jewish Federation’s Midtown HQ revamp

The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s modest Midtown campus could be on track to undergo a substantial makeover.

A new rendering published by the Atlanta Jewish Times shows one architect’s vision for the potential transformation of the organization’s headquarters, which is currently housed in an unassuming single-story building at the corner of 18th and Spring streets, across the street from the Center for Puppetry Arts.

According to the AJT, the building had once been likened to “an aircraft carrier, an enormous craft that requires time to pivot in the water.”

Under the leadership of JFGA CEO Eric Robbins, who came aboard in 2016, it seems that pivot is beginning to happen.

Since Robbins came to helm the nonprofit, he’s been teasing the idea of “gathering numerous Jewish organizations under one roof,” according to the AJT.

Reimagining the JFGA’s three-acre headquarters campus could be a means of doing that.

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The rendering that Robbins unveiled during the Federation’s 2019 annual meeting—a sketch nicknamed “The Jetsons building,” after the 1960s cartoon—shows just one architect’s idea for the property.

The goal with the expansion project would be to provide workspace for the federation as well as other Jewish organizations, expand the footprint of the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, introduce a small theater “for possible use by the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival,” and create an “Israel experience center,” according to the publication.

Plus, the development would feature a housing component.

“The concept embodies exactly what we want to be in the community,” Robbins told the AJT. “This is not Federation’s building, don’t call it Federation’s building. This is a building that would be the home to many Jewish organizations and programs.”

No cost estimates for the project have been discussed. Next steps would reportedly involve a possible feasibility study in coming months followed by a fundraising campaign.