Jonathan Sinay Building

Thriven Design provided asset preservation design services to the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey (JFSNJ) as it pursued its vision for a new kind of community center that allows residents from their Weinberg Commons neighborhood, as well as others from the surrounding area, a wider range of social and skill-building experiences, all within a convenient, supervised, and self-contained setting. The facility is the home of two cornerstone programs: The Aleph Adult Day Center and the Jewish Family and Children’s Service (JFCS) To Our Positive Success (TOPS) Day Habilitation Program.

Thriven Design’s plan transformed an existing multipurpose building that provided adult athletics, preschool art enrichment, and special needs programming into a vibrant “Main Street” feel with complete educational functions including a hair salon, coffee shop, dry goods store, and arts and crafts studio. An outdoor area features adult and handicap accessible exercise equipment, walking paths, and a “fresh air cafe”. Not only are the destinations within the “Main Street” an opportunity for program participants to gather and socialize, they also offer special needs residents and others from the outlying community the opportunity to participate in work and skills training in retail, cosmetology, and the culinary arts.