There is a very good opportunity in front of the Lakewood community, and I believe we should be taking it seriously: building a new קהילה much farther out, or even in another state entirely.

The idea is not to keep moving a few minutes farther down the same road. It is to think bigger. Instead of waiting for another neighborhood to become available nearby, why not identify a place where an entire community can be planned from the beginning?

Look at Lakefront Estates & Villas, the development being built in Glades County near Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Its plans bring homes together with the things a growing קהילה needs: schools, a בית מדרש, a מקוה, shopping and other community services. The project is still being developed, but the thinking behind it is worth learning from.

The people behind it did not limit their search to the next block beside an existing community. They looked farther away and began planning a place around the needs of the families who would live there.

Why shouldn’t people in the Lakewood area do the same?

When we discuss our future, we should not assume that every answer has to be within a short drive of where we live today. If we want room for a growing community, we should be willing to look where there is room to build one. That could mean a much more distant part of New Jersey. It could mean another state.

A new development should be about more than putting up houses and hoping everything else follows. The goal should be a functioning קהילה, with schools, places to learn and daven, a מקוה, stores and a realistic plan for earning a living. Those needs should be part of the discussion before families are asked to move.

That is also what makes this a real opportunity for developers and investors. There is a difference between selling a house and giving a family a reason to make a new place home. A well-planned community can offer something that scattered construction cannot: a clear picture of daily life.

Of course, the numbers have to work. Buying land farther away does not automatically make the finished homes affordable. Roads, utilities, taxes, schools and the other costs all need to be examined honestly. The opportunity is to find a place where the complete plan works for families, not simply a property that looks inexpensive on paper.

The next step should be practical. Bring together developers, investors, רבנים, עסקנים and families who would seriously consider such a move. Look at several locations. Speak with the local officials. Check zoning, infrastructure and the full cost of building. Find out what size group would be needed to open with the basic services in place.

No one needs to promise a new town tomorrow. But someone does need to begin doing the work.

This is not a call for everyone to leave Lakewood. It is a call to create another good option. A family that wants to remain here can remain here. A family willing to start somewhere new should have a serious, organized possibility to consider.

The lesson from the Lakefront project is that a growing קהילה does not have to limit its imagination to the boundaries of its existing neighborhoods.

We should be looking much farther out. We should be considering other states. And we should see this as a very good opportunity to build for the next generation, rather than waiting until the need becomes harder to answer.