Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas Breaks Ground on New Home in Addison

For nearly 75 years, Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas (JFS) has provided critical services to those in need. The nonprofit has been a cornerstone of the community since 1950, but lately it’s been doing so much, it’s been “bursting at the seams” in its home in Far North Dallas. That’s about to change, though—thanks to the recent groundbreaking of The Karla and Larry Steinberg Building, JFS’ new 100,000-square-foot home at 16301 Quorum Dr. in Addison.

JFS Dallas offers a range of community programs including primary medical care, individual age-appropriate counseling and group support, career and financial coaching, a food pantry, support for older adults, and a clubhouse for adults with mental illness.

On September 26, over 300 community leaders, partners, and supporters gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony at JFS’ new building site. The event celebrated the purchase of the new building and kicked off renovations, with an anticipated move-in date slated for late 2025.

JFS President and CEO Cathy Barker, JFS Board Chair Julie Gothard, Larry and Karla Steinberg, CFO Steve Brown, Addison Mayor Bruce Arfsten, JFS Capital Campaign Chair Joel Litman, and JFS COO Deizel Sarte breaking ground to kick off renovations. [Photo: Kim Leeson]

$40M ‘Meeting the Moment’ campaign

Also announced at the event: the public phase of a $40 million capital campaign called “Meeting the Moment.” To date, through the leadership of the Steinberg family and the generosity of nearly 100 other supporters, JFS says it has raised $30 million toward this campaign.

“Today we are celebrating 75 years of impact,” JFS CEO Cathy Barker said in a statement. “This expansion marks a significant milestone in our mission to better serve the evolving needs of the community by consolidating all services in one location, efficiently providing low-income families greater access to comprehensive support.”

Exterior of the new 100,000-square-foot Jewish Family Service Karla and Larry Steinberg building. Renovations are slated to be completed by late 2025. [Photo: Kim Leeson]

“We want to express our deepest gratitude to Karla and Larry Steinberg, the lead donors and the building’s namesake, and we’re excited to announce we have already received ten gifts of $1 million+ from families leading this campaign—a campaign that will fuel innovation, drive expansion, and secure sustainability for our essential services for the next 75 years,” Barker added.

New JFS home is nearly four times larger

Almost four times larger than the Dallas building JFS has called home since 2001, the new Karla and Larry Steinberg Building will include: 18,000 square feet devoted to behavioral health including spaces for counseling, case management, and support groups. It will also offer play therapy rooms, a sensory gym for children with special needs, services for older adults and Holocaust survivor care; an expanded food pantry (doubling its current size); dedicated space for packing kosher home-delivered meals; a second and larger (10,600 square feet) primary medical clinic (in addition to its Northpoint Health Center, established earlier this year) to include a dental clinic; JFS’ accredited PLAN Clubhouse for adults with severe and persistent mental illness; and computer training rooms and offices for career and financial coaching.

Over 300 community leaders, partners, and supporters at JFS groundbreaking event at new Jewish Family Service Karla and Larry Steinberg Building. [Photo: Kim Leeson]

In addition, JFS noted that its reception and entrances will be “highly secure.”

At the groundbreaking, Addison Mayor Bruce Arfsten welcomed JFS to Addison.

“For nearly 25 years, JFS has been our neighbor just across the tollway, and it is so exciting to see JFS come to Addison, a great place to work and serve the community,” the mayor said. “JFS is already serving 1,000 Addison residents with their unique wraparound care model, and we’re excited to see its impact grow.”

JFS Board Chair Julie Gothard spoke as well, recognizing board members who had devoted many hours making the project come to fruition. She also recognized the city of Addison and special project partners Sunwest Realty, Susser Bank, GFF, Echelon Structure Tone, and Mission Advancement.

Gothard also called out the campaign leadership team: Eric Goldberg, Jim and Ynette Hogue, Stan Rabin, Steve Waldman, Don Zale, and Campaign Leadership Chair Joel Litman. Prior to leading the campaign, Litman, who first began volunteering at JFS in 1988, has also served as board member, board chair, and foundation board chair, JFS noted.

Rendering of Level 1 of JFS’ new home: GFF Design

Capital campaign aimed at funding three areas

The JFS “Meeting the Moment” $40M capital campaign is focusing its funding needs on three areas: whole person care, including primary care for the construction, equipment and staffing of the medical clinic as well as integrated services; expansion, including purchase of the new building and renovations; and ensuring the future with investments in the JFS endowment.

The Steinberg family, the building’s namesake, offered remarks at the groundbreaking as well.

Rendering of Level 2 of JFS’ new home: GFF Design

‘We love JFS’ philosophy of opening their doors to anyone struggling’

“Larry and I had been looking for a giving opportunity when we learned that JFS was bursting at the seams, and we found this to be a perfect fit,” Karla Steinberg said at the groundbreaking. “We love JFS’ philosophy of opening their doors to anyone struggling. They have a wonderful hands-on approach with many wonderful volunteer opportunities and ways for the community to become involved.”

Karla and Larry’s son, Oliver, expressed his pride in his parents. “You have both instilled the values of giving and kindness in my upbringing and passed them on to me, carrying me for the rest of my life,” he said.

Also attending the groundbreaking ceremony were additional JFS leadership, past JFS presidents, community CEOs, capital campaign leadership team, building leadership, and community CEOs. Community and faith leaders were also on hand, including Darren Gardner and Nancy Craig from the Addison City Council, Jill Cumnock, Igor Alterman, Tracy Eubanks, and Sam Susser.

Hard hats with the JFS 75th anniversary logo. [Photo: Kim Leeson]

JFS’ lasting impact

Last year alone, JFS’ wraparound services impacted 26,000 people, the organization said. By 2028, with the new building established, JFS expects to serve around 50,000 people annually across all agency services. It also aims to increase client visits from 29,000 to 120,000 and increase pounds of food distributed from 450,000 to 1.4 million.

More information about JFS is available here.