A $13 million renovation of the Jewish Community Center’s Marilyn Fox Building in Chesterfield will begin in early April and touch all areas of the facility. The project will be funded through a capital campaign, supplemented by a $2 million infusion from the state of Missouri.
J leaders said the project is consistent with the organization’s focus on serving greater community needs and delivering more impact.
The 26-year-old, 65,000-square-foot building houses a fitness center, indoor and outdoor pools, basketball and volleyball courts and an early childhood center. Those facilities will be updated during the renovation, with an estimated completion date of September 2025. One of the most significant elements of the 18-month makeover will be the addition of an adult day center, with capacity for 36 participants.
Adult day centers provide a much-needed service for users and their caregivers. They give older adults an opportunity to socialize with their peers and reduce isolation and loneliness. A 2021 study published by Johns Hopkins University Press reported that a critical need exists for resources to address a growing demand for community based services and help older adults avoid higher levels of care.
Within five miles of the Fox Building, there are 22,000 residents aged 65+, and 4,000 people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Only one licensed adult day program in Chesterfield, a skilled nursing facility with a capacity of 25, serves that population.
The Fox Building adult day center has a March 2025 planned opening, which will be welcome news for individuals who would benefit from the services and their caregivers, said Nicole Hawkins, project leader and chief operating officer.
“Right now, we have a wait list of 60 people at the Staenberg Family Complex,” Hawkins said. “We think that this will be a really good way to move some of our folks who are now commuting from the Chesterfield area over to the Fox Building and open up our wait list here as well. About 30% of active participants typically travel 30 to 45 minutes one way to attend the adult day center at the Staenberg location.”
The new adult day center will have two components like the center in the Staenberg Family Complex at the J near Creve Coeur. The Connections Program will provide a variety of activities and intergenerational events for adults who require assistance during the day. It is designed for adults with cognitive loss and physical disability.
The other component is called the In Program, which was created in 2016 to support young adults with Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and other physical and developmental disabilities.
“That program has really taken off,” Hawkins said. “And there are very few available resources for people in the west St. Louis County area.”
The $2 million from Missouri is part of a broader effort for which the Legislature appropriated one-time funds. The funding is intended to provide infrastructure support to key nonprofit organizations that provide critical health and human services to vulnerable populations. The J is a primary provider for adult day services to both older adults and individuals with developmental disabilities.
In addition to the adult day center, other components of the Fox Building renovation will include:
- Updates to the early childhood center and community meeting spaces
- Expanded kitchen facilities
- Renovated and expanded locker rooms and Kid Zone
- New gymnasium floor
- Dedicated pickleball courts
- Infrastructure improvements, including security and communications
- Upgraded exterior, entry and lobby areas
The building and facilities will be available to members throughout the renovation process. The upgrades will progress in phases to minimize disruption to users. For example, construction in the gym won’t begin until after the camp season. The locker room component will begin after the outdoor pool season. All plans intentionally take timing and the seasons into consideration.
Hawkins said another important aspect of the project is looking at best practices from other Jewish community centers. Michael Staenberg, the Fox Building renovation lay leader, had previously worked on similar projects.
“Having Debbie Stamer (O’Toole Design Associates) and Steve Mueller (HDA Architects) work on it, they’ve done other projects for me in Omaha and Kansas City, so that was important,” Staenberg said. “We understand the nuances, like walkability. This is a renovation, and the Kansas City and Omaha projects are renovations. That was very helpful. A good example is the locker rooms. We renovated both of the locker rooms in Omaha and Kansas. That’s what I brought to the project, and also the discipline to make it economically feasible.”
Hawkins said the modifications to locker rooms will be a significant improvement and take advantage of recent technological innovations.
“The expansion that we’ll be doing with the family/community locker rooms will be a really huge draw for families,” Hawkins said. “They will be like separate family changing rooms.
One of my favorite things that we’re going to have is new infrared saunas in both of the men’s and women’s locker rooms. We’re also going to be building in a wellness space with more ability to do stretching and use compression boots.”
In addition to features and design, J leaders considered how to most effectively position service areas. The adult day center and early childhood center will be adjacent to one another to provide more intergenerational programs.
Staenberg said that when J members enter the building, they’ll experience the upgrades, which he called “a game-changer.”
While the physical changes will improve the member experience, the overall goal is to invest in the future, said Debbie Lefton, J board member.
“Just as previous generations have worked to create the Jewish community we enjoy today, it’s important that we expand our services and our programming and have a place for the community to come together,” Lefton said.
“It’s a perfect time for this project. Now more than ever, it’s imperative that we invest in the J to ensure a Jewish space that supports our entire community, creating a J for tomorrow. It strengthens our ability to fulfill our mission of the J for future generations and ensures that we deliver even greater impact for our children and our grandchildren.”
