Temple Israel of Portsmouth has been on State St. since the congregation purchased a Methodist Church in 1911. In 1920, the synagogue was redecorated. In 1940, an adjacent building was purchased for its Hebrew School and in 1967, a Temple Israel Community Center was added.
Over the past two years, EnviroVantage has performed selective demolition in the synagogue, the synagogue basement as well as the community center. The inside of the buildings were gutted back to bare walls, removing asbestos wrap around the copper pipes, asbestos tile flooring, and the mastic used to adhere the tiles to the floor. The "demo" portion of the renovation was completed with the removal of an elevator from the building.
With generous support from the congregation, the temple has been able to complete a major $3.2 million renovation. This included the replacement of 9 windows in the synagogues' sanctuary, a project funded by the NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program. This final component of the renovation came after extensive partnership between EnviroVantage and Destefano & Associates.
It was important to the congregation that the last phase of the project be completed before the High Holidays in September and October.
"We are all very proud of the restoration effort," said former temple president Robert Chaikin, "and we are especially proud of a wall in the lobby of the Community Center that was built using stone imported from Israel. The wall replicates the look and feel of the "Wailing Wall" located in the old city of Jerusalem," said Chaikin.
EnviroVantage provided Temple Israel and Destefano & Assoc. a clean, hazardous material-free building for its renovation project.