How One Floridian’s Fall Led to the Rise of a New Jewish Center - The Chai Center/Chabad of Coral Springs now has the amenities to serve a young, burgeoning community

Several hundred people, including a U.S. congressman and local city council members, braved a sultry summer rain in South Florida earlier this month to attend a ribbon-cutting for the Chai Center/Chabad of Coral Springs. They were helping commemorate the grand opening of a new facility that greatly expands Chabad’s space and suits the needs of a growing congregation, says Rabbi Hershy Bronstein. He and his wife, Chanie, have led this Chabad center in the city for the past decade, starting with small prayer gatherings in their apartment. Then they moved into a 1,300-square-foot storefront property. Now they can call a centrally located, 9,500-square-foot building home. But this particular place might not have come into play had it not been for an unusual incident. Before its latest incarnation, the building was home to a restaurant that had fallen into foreclosure. For the better part of two years, Bronstein was considering the site for Chabad’s expa