PITTSFIELD — The effort to have Pittsfield’s two synagogues share a building has ended, leaving Temple Anshe Amunim to continue its search for a new location after leaders concluded that co-locating at Knesset Israel was financially unfeasible.

Until the building is sold, the Reform Jewish congregation at Temple Anshe Amunim is staying put at 26 Broad St.

In a process that lasted two years, Temple Anshe Amunim and Congregation Knesset Israel, which is Conservative, explored sharing space at Knesset Israel at 16 Colt Road. Leaders found that in order to make the plan work, it would require significant construction — adding an elevator, renovating basement spaces and bathrooms, as well as an entryway.

In mid-November, a joint committee set up to explore the project sent a letter to both congregations announcing the decision not to move forward. In the end, even with money committed from the Feigenbaum Foundation, it was just too expensive, synagogue leaders said.

“While we will never close the door to supporting each other, right now the benefits of co-location do not justify the sacrifices it would require of each congregation,” the letter reads.

Temple Anshe Amunim in Pittsfield was designed by architect Henry Blatner and has won architectural awards. The 20,200-square-foot building is listed for sale at $1.299 million.

Mirroring national trends, both synagogues ballooned during the 1950s and 1960s. Today, both host smaller congregations: Temple Anshe Amunim has 75 families; Knesset Israel has about 300.

Anshe Amunim was established in 1869 and has been at its Broad Street location since 1964. Facing a dwindling congregation, Temple Anshe Amunim board of trustees voted in July 2024 to put the building up for sale, citing a declining membership and that the space was an “albatross” to maintain financially.

While a buyer emerged, the sale never materialized and the building is back on the market now.

The two congregations already shared a Hebrew school at Knesset Israel and during the exploratory talks began sharing adult education classes, coordinating and sharing other programming, which will continue. But making the full commitment to share the space did not seem feasible, Robyn L. Rosen, president of Anshe Amunim, explained in her president’s message of the December bulletin.

Robyn Rosen, the president of Temple Anshe Amunim in Pittsfield, has acknowledged that some congregants were disappointed by news that Temple Anshe Amunim won't share space with Congregation Knesset Israel.

“Our decision not to colocate came down to practical and logistical challenges — not to any lack of goodwill or cooperation,” Rosen wrote.

Temple Anshe Amunim Rabbi Valerie Lieber, who joined the joint committee prior to her official start July 1, said as they moved along in the process, trepidation grew in both communities.

"It became clear that the price tag was going to go up and up and up," Lieber said. "And it wasn’t going to look how people envisioned. We kept seeing the dream slip through our fingers.”

Jesse Cook-Dubin, immediate past president of Knesset Israel and chair of the joint committee, said he enjoyed getting to know the leadership at Anshe Amunim.

“The communities have been largely separate,” Cook-Dubin said. “And it seems crazy, with such a small Jewish community that we wouldn't know each other better, but we really didn't. So that's been tremendous.”

He said the process also showed him the importance of having both Conservative and Reform congregations in Pittsfield.

“They cater to people with different needs, and it would be hard to just have one synagogue,” he said. “I think realizing that there are viable paths for both congregations that are separate — I mean collaborative, but separate — was really reaffirming about the future of Judaism in our area.”

Looking forward, it’s unclear where Anshe Amunim’s congregation will land.

“We’re kind of going back to square one,” Lieber said. “We’re addressing it as a board of trustees.”

The 20,200-square-foot building is listed for sale at $1.299 million.

In the meantime, Lieber said, members of the congregation are engaged with weekly services and Friday night dinners are drawing about 25 to 35.

“We’ve made lemonade out of lemons," she said. "People are recommitting to their involvement and their energy.”

Rabbi Valerie Lieber at Temple Anshe Amunim in Pittsfield. In July, Lieber replaced Rabbi Scott Saulson, who was hired as an interim rabbi in 2023.