The Al-Huda School purchased 3301 Front St., which used to house the Jewish Community Center.
The old Jewish Community Center building has a new owner.
On Dec. 24, the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg sold the 69,000-square-foot property at 3301 N. Front St. to the Al-Huda School for $1.1 million.
Safi Khan, director of the Al-Huda School, issued a statement last week celebrating the close of the sale. According to Khan, the Islamic school, which currently operates a campus in Camp Hill, will use the building as a new home.
“A place where the Quran will be recited, where the character will be built, where the hearts will be nurtured before the grades are measured,” Khan said, calling the purchase “the beginning of a legacy.”
The Al-Huda School, also known as Al-Huda PA, was founded in 2009. It is a branch of the Al-Huda School in College Park, Md. Its teachings are based around the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Al-Huda PA currently enrolls pre-K through fifth grade students and offers online school for students in grades six to 12 through Al-Huda Global.
Zachary Benjamin, the president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg, said Tuesday that the sale symbolized the “end of a successful, joyful era” for the federation. The organization fully transitioned its operations to the Alexander Grass Campus for Jewish Life, at 2986 N. 2nd St., in 2024.
“We hope that the Al-Huda School enjoys many happy years in the space that served us so well,” Benjamin said.
The Jewish Community Campus building was originally built in 1956 and later updated in the 1990s. It served as the Jewish Federation’s home for almost 70 years.
The property was on the market for roughly two years and went up for auction in October. It contains a gymnasium, pool, auditorium and other facilities and overlooks the Susquehanna River.
Haroon Shah represented Al-Huda at the October auction. Al-Huda has noted its goal of creating a full-time Islamic school in the Harrisburg region on its website.
For more information on the Al-Huda School, visit its website.
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