Just over four years ago we embarked on the task of relocating our preschool—scouting out properties, negotiating with landlords, and becoming intimately familiar with the requirements. It was no easy find; the egress requirements alone ruled out most spaces!
Finally, this week, after four years, we received our Certificate of Occupancy! When we started out, we had no idea it would take this long.
In fact, when we started out there were a lot of things we didn’t know. We had no idea how we would fund the project. And we knew nothing about construction.
All we knew back then was that we were in dire need of a larger space to accommodate all the children whose parents were requesting admission to our school. We wanted to accept everyone; we simply didn’t have enough room.
How do you rent a space with no budget? Trust in Hashem.
How do you start construction with no experience? Absolute faith in the One Above.
How do you deal with the many unavoidable obstacles and setbacks that crop up? Lean into that belief, and trust that Hashem will send us the incredible team of contractors, architects, expeditors, engineers, and lawyers we need to see this project to fruition.
So we jumped in and found a space and started wading through endless trails of paperwork. It’s on the ground floor of an existing building, so you’d think it would be pretty straightforward to obtain the necessary permits. Not so.
As soon as we finished one piece of paperwork, another came to our attention. Every time we presented something to the Department of Buildings, there was some objection we had to deal with. Then there was the health department and the fire department, both of which also needed to approve our plans.
We went into the process knowing none of this, but knowing that Hashem would give us the strength and the tools to do whatever we needed.
We discovered that according to the Department of Buildings our preschool occupies two buildings with two separate addresses, which meant we had to file two permits at every juncture. Two mechanical permits, two plumbing permits, two electrical permits, two fire alarm and sprinkler permits. And after each step, we needed two inspections. Double the work and double the opportunity for the inspectors to find problems.
There were times we were achingly overwhelmed and frustrated. Nothing made sense and there was no one to talk to. One building is taller than the other, and that created a whole host of new problems we had to deal with.
So you can imagine that when we say “Mazal tov! We got our CO!” it’s a real mazal tov indeed!
How did we deal with all the obstacles? We tried our hardest to drown out the background noise and stay focused on the goal: to create an early learning center where we can provide a thriving Jewish education for our community.
And with tremendous gratitude to Hashem, and to everyone who helped us along the way, we can now forge ahead preparing for the coming school year.
Shabbat Shalom