The Jewish Community Center on the Hudson held a press conference on Wednesday morning to share plans for its new building and campus located at 425 South Broadway in Tarrytown.

The JCC acquired the building adjacent to its current venue, a former General Motors training site, in April 2009. After what some administrators said was 21 years of planning and acquiring funds necessary to bring the vision for a bustling center to life, JCC board members and local officials shared their plans and offered words of support.

The current JCC facility is 17,600 square feet on 1.1 acres of land. With the addition of the new building, the venue will total 75,000 square feet on 6.6 acres, making it one of the largest community centers in the county. The project is estimated to cost $12 million.

JCC administrators hope the new facility will draw in 2,000 — 2,400 members, versus the 550 membership units offered at the current building.

"The six-and-a-half acre campus will provide a full array of facilities and services that will be open and available to the entire community," said JCC Board of Governors Chairman Michael Maron. "Our new facility will add 50 day care slots, provide after school slots for more than 150 children, a swim academy, a music school, day camping; and a place for teens to hang out, swim and play basketball."

Maron added the expansion will require the employment of at least an additional 100 workers, "from directorship to clerical, from teachers to maintenance, along with numerous volunteer opportunities."

According to JCC Executive Director Frank Hassid, ground is expected to break late this coming spring, and the project is expected to be completed sometime between September 2012 and January 2013.

"We are looking at roughly a two-year window," he said.

According to a floor plan of the new facility (see attached .pdf), additions will include a large gymnasium and expanded fitness center, an auditorium, café, administrative offices, early childhood classrooms and day care, as well as two pools.

Hassid said the larger pool will have five lanes to accommodate a swim team, while the smaller "teaching pool" will have a moveable floor so swimmers of all ages and abilities are able to make use of it.

He also stressed the venue's capabilities for hosting pre-teen and teenage members, as well as providing optimal service for the organization's special needs program.

"We are going to make it blossom," he said of the ever-growing program.

According to Susan Tolchin of the JCC Board of Governors, funding and support for the project has come from both the county and state levels.

Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Tolchin said, was able to secure a $100,000 grant for the project through the New York State Dormitory Authority. Stewart-Cousins spoke briefly during the conference.

"It has been easy to be a supporter and friend," revealed Stewart-Cousins. "It's always easy when you know the investment of all of our tax dollars, all of our energies, will go to support every aspect of the community. That's what this is about."

Tolchin additionally recognized Assemblyman Richard Brodsky and added he "...has initiated the process to help us secure a $75,000 grant from the New York State Dormitory Authority."

Deputy County Executive Kevin Plunkett, a Tarrytown resident, spoke on behalf of Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino.

"I'm excited not only for the village, which is going to be invigorated by this great project, but it's also invigorating for the county," he said.

Tolchin praised Union Free District of the Tarrytowns Superintendent Howard Smith for collaborating with the center in allowing Sleepy Hollow High School students to gain valuable experience by working with the center's disabled population.

"The district is extremely, extremely supportive of the J," said Tolchin.

Lisa Feinman, JCC Assistant Executive Director, led guests in a tour of the GM training center following the conference. Though most of the rooms are currently empty, two are being used to house old village fire trucks for the time being.

Feinman said the current JCC facility will also see some renovations in the future, including a transformation of the current fitness center into additional office space and turning the locker rooms into a "therapeutic gym." Upon completion, the two structures will be connected via a covered walkway.

"Our goal is to create a multi-service institution that people of all ages can enjoy for years to come," said Maron. "The excitement is coming and our imagined theme gets a step closer to reality every day."