TORONTO — Julian Fantino, minister of state for seniors and MP for Vaughan, announced on March 14 that the federal government will contribute up to $15 million toward Phase 3 of the Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Jewish Community Campus, on Bathurst Street north of Rutherford Road in Vaughan.

An artist’s rendering of the Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Jewish Community Campus.

Fantino made the announcement  on behalf of Chuck Strahl, minister of transport, infrastructure and communities.

The estimated total costs for Phase 3 are $45 million, and construction is expected to be completed in fall 2016. Federal support is conditional on the project meeting federal conditions and the signing of a contribution agreement with UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, according to a joint news release by the federation and the Canadian government.

The federal funding falls under the major infrastructure component of the Building Canada fund. UJA Federation is responsible for the remaining costs.

The campus already houses the Anne and Max Tanenbaum Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto’s Kimel Centre. New buildings and services are expected to be phased in from 2012 to 2016.

Speaking in the unheated, partly built Schwartz/Reisman Centre – one of three Jewish community centres in the GTA being funded by the federation’s $225-million Tomorrow Campaign – Fantino said the announcement was “really about community building.” The centre is expected to open in fall 2012.

“Our government remains focused on the economy, and completing our economic recovery is an important task we have embraced,” Fantino said.

The project is “a fine example” for its creation of jobs and future recreation facilities that will serve the community, he said.

The project will include a conference centre, theatre and lecture hall, an outdoor pool and multi-purpose facilities that will be available to all York Region citizens.

Fantino credited Bernie Farber, national CEO of Canadian Jewish Congress, as one of the main people who helped him understand that the project “is more about community building than a particular project that is singular to one specific community in our city.”

Elizabeth Wolfe, chair of the board of UJA Federation, said the new centre will be “a place for everyone –  young and old, Jew and gentile, those of all affiliations, abilities and interests. It will be a place of culture and education, recreation and wellness, celebration and integration, health and social services.”

Vaughan mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua said the project was “a perfect example of what can be achieved when people pool their resources to bring about positive change.”

Ted Sokolsky, president of UJA Federation, said the event was a unique partnership between all levels of government and the non-profit world, and that the project was about both nation-building and city-building.

“The ceremony today is a testimonial to a belief in the future,” he added.