DEARBORN — With mostly clear weather, summer is the best time of year for construction workers to make progress on their building projects.

But in the case of the new American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) building on Chase Road near Ford Road, construction has been halted while the organization attempts to gather more funds to continue with the project.

Because of trying economic times that the metro Detroit is facing, ADC was not able to collect on all of the donations it was expecting to help pay for construction of the building, which will be called the Arab American Center for Human and Civil Rights (AACHR).

Now, ADC is calling on members of the Arab American community, both local and beyond, to help by donating money to a cause they are still dedicated and optimistic about.

“We would like to put a public call for our friends and members within and outside the community and business community for financial help,” said Imad Hamad, Regional Director of ADC and President of the AACHR committee. “Each dollar helps. It could literally help us put up an additional brick towards completing the building.”

The new building is expected to be state-of-the-art and it will be split into three major segments. The first segment will be a conference training room, the second will be a large cultural gallery and lounge area, while the third will be an education resource library.

The building was originally scheduled to be completed by somewhere in the October-December range, but now Hamad is afraid that the building process will have to be put off indefinitely until more funds can be raised.

The library in particular excites Hamad, who said it could be the foundation of a first-of-its-kind Arab American think tank where researchers can put together resource studies and surveys by Arab Americans for Arab Americans as opposed to third parties.

“The main purpose of the building is to be a bridge builder and a community tool for the Arab world in particular,” said Hamad. “We foresee this center to play a role in advancing the interests of the Arab American community at-large.”

However, for the center to be completed, ADC will have to rely on contributions from business owners as well as citizens who wish to donate.

“This is an unprecedented, challenging time affecting everyone, unfortunately this is a situation that is not going to fade away in a day or week or month, it is there to stay for a good time to come,” said Hamad.

Hamad also pointed out that ADC has been serving the Arab community on a national level for 27 years and has been in Dearborn since 1997. He didn’t want to brag about the ADC’s contributions to the community, but did say that “their record speaks for itself.”

Because of how much ADC means to the community, Hamad stressed how important it will be to secure the necessary funds for the completion of the new building. The current ADC office is not especially visible, tucked away in a building on the corner of the plaza on Schaefer and Ford roads.

Hamad stressed that the determination and dedication to completing the project are as strong as always, but also said that more funding is necessary from outside sources in order for the project to be completed.

“We went a long way and the structure of this promising center and unique nature of it are already in place,” said Hamad.

“This has been a dream for us for a long time now. It is halfway there and now we trust that this dream will be real.”

For questions or to donate, send an e-mail to adcmichigan@adc.org, go to www.adcmichigan.org, or call 313-581-1201.