Jewish nonprofit wants to buy downtown Raleigh parking lot that Oakwood group also wants
A faith-based nonprofit has outbid a neighborhood preservation group trying to buy a city-owned parking lot in downtown Raleigh.
Chabad Young Professionals, a nonprofit focused on the “spiritual and social life for young Jewish professionals,” has submitted a $405,000 bid for the lot at 411 Morrison Ave.
The Raleigh City Council accepted the bid during its meeting Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean the bidding is over.
The Society for the Preservation of Historic Oakwood originally offered $300,000 for the parking lot but that was lower than the minimum bid of $400,000. The tax value of the parking lot, which sits across from Raleigh Fire Station 3, is over $500,000.
Oakwood neighbors wanted to purchase the lot to serve as a final spot to move historic homes facing potential demolition.
The Chabad group has been searching for a permanent location for over a year, said Rabbi Zalmy Dubinsky. He and his wife, Mushka, are co-directors of the nonprofit.
“There really is something to creating an accessible and meaningful community and spiritual experience for essentially Millennials and Gen Zers, who may not necessarily gravitate towards that automatically,” he said.
The group has been growing and the location needs to be close to where Dubinsky and his wife live downtown because they do not drive on the Sabbath, he said.
Oakwood neighbors did reach out to Chabad about their interest in the property, but the two different plans for the lot “didn’t quite align,” Dubinsky said.
Dee Penven-Crew, president of the Oakwood nonprofit, said the group’s board will meet soon and decide its next steps, including whether to submit an upset bid.
Chabad’s bid will be advertised and people can submit an upset bid for up to 10 days. If no upset bids are accepted, it will go back to the Raleigh City Council for a final vote.
‘No Jewish presence downtown’
“There is no current Jewish presence downtown,” Dubinsky said. “And that’s something obviously we’d like to change.
“There is a large number of young professionals moving downtown, and amongst them, of course, a large number of young Jewish professionals,” he explained. “Being able to create that community space where they can call home for their community needs is something that’s been a dream of ours since we moved here, the goal we’ve been working towards. And now that, God willing, we’re in a position to be able to do that is exciting.”
This story was originally published January 5, 2023 at 1:07 PM.
