SF Hillel to undergo renovations

Walking through San Francisco’s Lakeside neighborhood, you might not notice the small house on the corner of Danslowe and Banbury drives despite signage on the front of it, half-hidden behind a plant pot. 

San Francisco Hillel, a community space for Jewish students from not only San Francisco State University, but students across the Bay Area, is soon to get a facelift. Located just a short walk from campus, the organization will begin constructing its new off-campus community space, the Nancy and Stephen Grand Building, in April 2026. 

Originally a family house, the center was converted in 1982 and has been across from SFSU since the mid-80s. Renovations will include refurbishing outdated facilities and making the space more accessible to students with disabilities. SF Hillel anticipates moving into the new space in August 2027.

“I’m extremely excited about it,” said Jeremy Kasdin, president of SF Hillel. “I think the entire board is excited about it, as is the staff.” 

After the $8.6 million renovation is complete, the building will resemble a small commercial building rather than a family home. 

“We’re doubling the square footage so we’ll have 3,000 square feet,” said Roger Feigelson, SF Hillel’s executive director. “So if you come in the lobby, there’s a little reception desk there.” 

The renovations will also work to provide additional necessities and accessibility for students, particularly those with disabilities.

“There will be an elevator now, which we don’t have, and ramps, and handicap accessible bathrooms,” Kasdin said. “We don’t want any student to feel that they can’t come to the Hillel building.” 

The renovations will include security upgrades, a need demonstrated by an attempted break-in and antisemitic vandalism of the building in December 2024.” This vandalism prompted Chris Larsen, co-founder and former CEO of blockchain company Ripple, to donate to the renovation.

Nancy Grand’s $2.5 million gift named the building after her late husband, Stephen, a supporter of SF Hillel. The State of California and the California Legislative Jewish Caucus also saw the need to support this project. Other supporters include the Herbst Foundation, the Libitzky Family Foundation, along with significant anonymous donations.

In addition to the donation, SF Hillel fundraised for this renovation through a series of weekly parlor meetings on Tuesday afternoons and evenings for community members and donors who wanted to learn more about how this renovation would impact students. The campaign started in April 2023 with seed gifts, the initial gifts from the Jewish Federation Bay Area and the Joseph Pedott Perpetual Endowment Trust.  

Sen. Scott Wiener, co-chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, said SF Hillel is an important resource for Jewish people across many San Francisco campuses.

“SF Hillel provides a place for young Jews to be in community with one another and grow, and I am delighted the State saw the importance of this project and helped to ensure that the San Francisco collegiate Jewish community would have a space that meets their needs,” Wiener said. “I look forward to celebrating with them in the new space once it is complete.”

In addition, the organization also had a campaign committee to gauge who was interested in making direct appeals and showing support. They applied for foundations that supported capital grants focused on community development, health and education.

While the renovations are underway, SFSU has provided SF Hillel staff and students with a temporary space in the library, supplying both programming and office space. 

SFSU President Lynn Mahoney is a supporter of the renovation. She visited the house in the past and questioned its accessibility to students.

“There were several times I was invited to things, and for a full year, from pretty much August, September of 23 through May of 24, I could not have gotten into the building,” Mahoney said. “And then I thought, ‘Wait, how can you serve students if you’re not accessible?’”  

Ari Fridman, a social work student at SFSU and student leader of SF Hillel, recalls the amenities of the old building and how they are in need of a fix.

“They have the oldest sinks and bathroom fittings, one of the oldest bathrooms I’ve ever seen,” Fridman said. “It’s kept nicely, but it’s just very old.”

SF Hillel hopes the renovations will attract more Jewish students by providing food, assistance and cultural spaces. 

“It’ll be a better, more comfortable place to hang out and do homework,” Feigelson said. “We’ll have a food pantry. Right now, there’s a lot of food insecurity. We host a food pantry twice a year, in addition to offering stipends and grants to help students with groceries and rent assistance.”

Fridman is also looking forward to a bigger programming room that will come after construction is completed.

“They’re gonna have an ark with the Torah inside of it and the Ner Tamid,” Fridman said. “It’s gonna be a fully kosher synagogue and just a lot more space when our events get big.”

The current building is not big enough to accommodate its members who attend events like a Shabbat dinner at SF Hillel.

“Right now, we have half the people in the living room and half the people are kind of overflowing outside of the building, and that’s not great,” Fridman said. “We want everyone to be in one space together.”

Fridman hopes the upcoming renovations will lead to more engagement with Jewish students on campus and an opportunity for them to proudly express their identity.  

“The only Jewish students I know that haven’t had some kind of incident are the ones that are hiding their identity on campus,” Fridman said. “I don’t think that should be happening either. I think we should be able to be loudly and proudly ourselves and not fearful of that. That’s why I think Hillel is so important.”

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