“And knock on all the beautiful maple wood we have here, so far, so good,” she said.

Though they can’t celebrate the opening as they expected, Pollock emphasizes they didn’t build the expansion for this month or pandemic times — they did it for generations to come.

Four years ago, COCA set out to raise $45 million and raised $49 million, setting aside $9 million for an endowment.

When the fiscal year starts in September, COCA anticipates being 25 percent down in revenue. “And that’s perhaps optimistic,” said Pollock. “That’s assuming in 2021 we are able to bring programming back in a bigger way.”

The building opened in 1950 and was originally a synagogue, designed by renowned architect Erich Mendelsohn. It was the first modern synagogue in North America, is on the National Register of Historic Places and considered a landmark of modern design.

COCA moved into the building in 1986, and the synagogue became its main theater. As part of the makeover and expansion, the theater was renovated into a performance lab and opened in 2018 during the first phase of the work, along with more than 3,500 feet of renovated studio space and a kitchen to be used for culinary programs and hosting events.

COCA had to knock down a 2004 addition for the new east wing, which is connected to the back of the synagogue and reflects design elements from it.