Share buys former bowling alley

Zachary Kaufman/The Columbian The nonprofit Share has purchased the former Timber Lanes bowling alley for $2.09 million and will convert it into offices for the organization’s 72-member staff. Share operates several shelters and meal programs in Clark County for poor and homeless people.

Vancouver nonprofit organization Share has purchased the former Timber Lanes bowling alley for $2.09 million and plans to remodel the Andresen Road center into new offices and space to serve local poor people.

The 24-lane bowling alley will be renovated at an expected cost of $5 million, said Diane Christie, executive director of Share, which operates meal programs and homeless shelters such as Share House. That was the organization’s first shelter, opening on West 13th Street in 1977.

The community’s need for Share services has continued to grow, Christie said.

“We are very busy, especially in this economy,” she said.

Christie expects to move Share’s staff of 72 employees into the remodeled bowling alley in May, if all goes well. The bowling center and its companion restaurant at 2306 N.E. Andresen Road were shut down earlier this year, due to slumping sales at the longtime venue. Economic conditions could also hinder Share’s plans to renovate the bowling center and move its staff in from three different locations.

Contributions to Share are on the decline, dropping by about 30 percent this year when compared with last year, Christie said.

“The number of clients is up, but our donations are down, so we’re getting hit from both sides,” she said.

Christie said Share and its 11-member board of directors will continue the fundraising campaign that raised money to buy the bowling center.

“Our goal is to raise an additional $5 million,” she said.

Renovation plans for the 22,000-square-foot bowling center will include space to organize and assign volunteer staff along with classroom and computer lab space for Share clients.