Nestled on three acres in Oakland’s vibrant Rockridge neighborhood, the East Bay Jewish Community Campus is a meeting ground for celebration, collaboration, and connection.
A Campus for Connection and Belonging
For over 30 years, leaders in our community envisioned a vibrant, centralized destination for Jewish life in the East Bay, home to one of the largest and fastest-growing Jewish communities in the country. That vision came to life with the transformation of the former Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream headquarters in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood into a permanent civic home.
More than a collection of buildings, the East Bay Jewish Community Campus brings together a unique network of Jewish organizations, serving as a regional anchor and a model of communal design and collaboration for communities across the nation.
With its central location, access to BART, walkable neighborhood amenities, and an extraordinary physical setting, the Campus meets a critical unmet need by offering something for everyone, from preschoolers and teens to young adult singles, families, thought leaders, lifelong learners, and caregivers.
Building on this momentum, we invite you to help us reach our $125 million goal and complete this vision together.
Opening Timeline
The JCC East Bay, its Early Childhood Education Center, and a number of other organizations are already operating on Campus. The full Campus grand opening is planned for early 2027.
The three-acre campus spans more than 128,000 square feet, of which 84,000 square feet will be building space, bringing to life a previously underutilized site in Rockridge.
The Campus at a Glance
The $125 million capital investment creates a three-acre campus that brings Jewish organizations together in one place. This consolidation drives greater efficiency, deepens partnerships, and expands access to programs serving communities across the Bay Area and beyond.
Anchored by an expanded JCC, the Campus is both a local gathering place and a regional anchor. Harnessing the power of convening, it provides state-of-the-art facilities, including an intimate, flexible performing arts complex, event spaces, modern classrooms, comfortable lounges, and sports facilities, all in a safe, welcoming environment equipped with cutting-edge technology to meet the needs of ever-changing audiences.
A Multigenerational Hub of Jewish Life
The expanded JCC East Bay, along with up to 20 other Jewish organizations, will be housed on the Campus, benefiting from a wide range of amenities and meeting spaces designed to foster co-creation and innovation.
The Campus will feature a kosher café; an event center showcasing new arts and culture programs; a catering and teaching kitchen; a health and wellness studio; an intimate library; classrooms for adult learning; a spacious early childhood education center with outdoor play areas and sensory room; and a dedicated teen center.
Anchored by a central courtyard with a meadow, reflection garden, ball court, and seating areas, the Campus will offer inviting spaces for people of all ages to experience Jewish life together in an open and welcoming environment.
A highlight of the new Campus will be the thoughtfully designed performance venue, with capacity to entertain more than 200 patrons. Events will center on arts, ideas, and Jewish culture, featuring local, national, and international artists and thinkers.
The Hub for Jewish Life
Between 15 and 20 Jewish organizations will make their home on the Campus, with dedicated office space and shared meeting and gathering areas. Together they serve the community in ways no single organization could manage alone.
Campus residents receive below-market, all-inclusive rates, peer networking, and shared professional development and training. More than an address, the Campus is a new model for engagement across intellectual, cultural, spiritual, and social life, built to maximize each organization’s impact and to connect a regional network of Jewish professionals.
How It Began
Founding donors and visionaries Moses Libitzky and Nathan Petrowsky purchased the former Dreyer’s headquarters in December 2019. For Libitzky, who had spent more than three decades imagining a central Jewish destination in the East Bay, the site was love at first sight: close to BART, walkable to neighborhood amenities, with private parking and room to grow. Working with the leadership of the JCC East Bay, the founders shaped a design to serve Jewish households across the region, from early childhood and youth through adult learning, wellness, and culture. Grants and individual gifts from across the community have carried the project forward.
“This isn't just real estate. It's a legacy.”
3 acres
Of Campus grounds
15–20 Jewish partner organizations on Campus
With dedicated Campus office space
7 buildings
Anchored by a central courtyard
84,000 sq ft
Of building space
100+ Jewish communal professionals
Working across the Campus
50+ Jewish network partners
Connected to Campus programs
40,000+ annual visitors
Experiencing the Campus, its programs, and community
285+ mezuzot
On doors and entrances across the Campus
A Home for Organizational Collaboration
A thriving community relies on shared spaces. The Campus provides a collaborative environment that enables nonprofit partners to connect more deeply with the people they serve.
By co-locating initiatives across education, culture, social services, advocacy, and innovation, the Campus serves as a catalyst, sparking creative partnerships and allowing partners to accomplish together what no single group could achieve alone. Centralized Campus services eliminate unnecessary duplication of effort, unlocking powerful cost efficiencies and uniting forces to challenge standard perspectives.
The result: stronger institutions that serve more people, reach farther, and create greater impact across the region.
Here, leaders grow, new ideas take root, and staff share resources, building a supportive environment for long-term community engagement. As a public/private partnership, the Campus embraces and honors local voices while actively engaging with global possibilities.
Investing in Our Shared Future
The Campus is a generational promise: a long-term commitment to build an adaptable environment that will sustain Jewish life for decades to come. It is backed by an innovative economic model, blending retail, earned revenue, philanthropic support, and a robust endowment, to ensure lasting financial sustainability.
As programs evolve and community needs shift, this central home remains, ensuring that future generations inherit a vibrant, connected community.
Your philanthropic support creates far-reaching impact, building the gathering spaces, shared resources, and welcoming culture that uplift the entire Bay Area.
L’dor v’dor, from generation to generation.
Creating Our Future—Together
The Campus is our collective generational promise—a commitment to belonging, to pride, and to a joyful Jewish future. The groundswell of community and donor support for the Campus is already creating a new home for identity, memory, and hope in the East Bay.
We are building a place where children can grow up immersed in a joyful community. Where new ideas take flight. Where older adults share stories that shape tomorrow. And where people of all ages find unexpected connections through inquiry, arts, and culture.
L’dor v’dor—from generation to generation—we’re building this future, together.
FAQ
What is the East Bay Jewish Community Campus, and where is it?
The Campus is a three-acre home for Jewish life at 5957 Chabot Road in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood, between College and Claremont Avenues. Built on the site of the former Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream headquarters, it brings an expanded JCC together with a network of Jewish organizations in one civic home.
When does it open?
The Early Childhood Education Center opened in August 2026. The full Campus, including program and activity spaces and the events center, opens to the public in early 2027.
What is on the Campus?
Seven buildings across three acres, anchored by a central courtyard with a meadow, reflection garden, ball court, and seating areas. Facilities include a kosher café, an event center for arts and culture programming, a catering and teaching kitchen, a health and wellness studio, an intimate library, adult learning classrooms, an early childhood education center with outdoor play areas and a sensory room, and a dedicated teen center.
What kinds of programs will the Campus offer?
Preschool and childcare, teen programming, young professional events, adult education, health and wellness classes, holiday celebrations, summer camp, and arts and cultural performances featuring local, national, and international artists.
Is the Campus open to people who aren't Jewish?
Yes. The Campus is open to all. It is designed as a welcoming, inclusive space where people of any background can connect with Jewish life and culture and take part in shared activities.
How much does the project cost, and how is it funded?
The Campus represents a $125 million capital investment, supported by grants, individual gifts, and the leadership of founding donors Moses Libitzky and Nathan Petrowsky. Its long-term model blends retail, earned revenue, philanthropic support, and an endowment to sustain operations for decades to come. For information on the Campus, naming opportunities, or the capital campaign, contact campus@jcceastbay.org.
How can I learn more or get involved?
Reach out to Robert Wise, Executive Director, at robert.wise@eastbayjewishcampus.org
Get In Touch
For questions about the Campus, naming opportunities, or giving to the capital campaign, contact robert.wise@eastbaycommunitycampus.org