Building our Future Update
📸 Staff and volunteers pause and take a picture on May 18, 2025 before opening the doors to our community for a “one off” service at our Miami Gardens property because it couldn’t be held at Temple Israel that day.
As you know, we are in a sacred and pivotal moment in the life of our beloved spiritual community. We are in a season of repotting and of deepening our roots so that we may flourish in new and powerful ways. God is inspiring new ways of being and has deepened the vision of what is possible for our future.
While many of us have been walking this specific path for many years, it was only in mid-April that we closed on our new property, what I have coined our “North Campus.” Since that joyful day, the journey has continued to unfold with intention, faith, and care.
I wanted to give you some updates on what our Building Our Future Committee, with the blessing of our Board of Trustees, has been working on.
We’ve hired Claro as our Owner’s Representative, guiding our collaboration with Dynamica, our architects.
We made a strategic decision to divide the renovation plans into three areas: Interior Renovation Design, Interior Design, and External Renovation Design. This allows us to move forward now with the interior renovations, rather than delay the entire project while exterior decisions are still being discerned.
The interior renovation design includes our new Sanctuary, a Chapel where all will be welcomed for contemplation, a retail space for books and gifts, a large Fellowship Hall, multi-use spaces for classes, meetings and rentals; and a dedicated area with multiple rooms for our Kidz Zone and expanded youth programming.
As we now finalize the architectural documents for the interior, we are also interviewing General Contractors.
By early November, we anticipate submitting our interior renovation plans to the City of Miami Gardens for permitting so that renovations/construction begins no later than January. This would ensure that we are fully moved into our new home no later than June 2026.
Friend, the soil we are lovingly being repotted in is nourished by your faith, prayers and generosity. Please continue to anchor yourself in faith and know that all you are supporting Unity on the Bay with will leave a lasting legacy for generations to come. Our community is preparing to blossom in new ways. Every step we take is rooted in Spirit and guided by our mission.
Thank you for walking this journey with us. We’ll continue to keep you informed as we grow together toward this exciting new chapter. Stay up to date by ensuring you're on our email list and have downloaded the Unity App, available both on the Apple and Google Play stores.
And remember, continue to pray with us, “We give thanks that Unity on the Bay’s new home is manifested under the guidance of God.”
Love in service,
Rev. Juan
On behalf of Kevin Moran, Board President, and the rest of our Building Our Future Committee