Salvation Army makes progress on new Vancouver site

The Salvation Army in Vancouver is getting closer to consolidating two spaces into one site, aiming to break ground next fall on a new 12,000-square-foot community resource center. Its $5.4 million capital campaign is 85 percent funded.

Plans to expand the nonprofit’s east Vancouver campus off Northeast 112th Avenue call for a one-stop shop for those who are underemployed and struggling to make ends meet.

Currently, the 4.39-acre site contains a church and an administrative building. Case management offices, the food pantry and clothing closet are located at another site off Minnehaha Street. By moving everything to 112th Avenue, the Salvation Army will realize about $48,000 in lease savings that can go back into program services, said Steve Rusk, community relations and development director.

The Vancouver branch of the international nonprofit serves about 9,000 people annually.

Monday, the Salvation Army announced that it’s getting $250,000 from the Firstenburg Foundation. It’s also challenging the community to match the first $50,000 being donated by the foundation by the end of the year. The biggest chunk of funding, $1.2 million, comes from the state.

Rusk recently gave a presentation on the project to the Vancouver City Council, one of the requirements for the nonprofit to get federal Community Development Block Grant funding, which is dispersed by the county. He told the council that the goal is to expand and serve Vancouver more effectively.

Other major contributors include Steve and Jan Oliva, Craig and Kim Hargreaves of Sunlight Supply, The Hidden Family Charitable Trust and Evergreen Memorial Gardens. The Salvation Army does not use floating loans in construction projects in order to be debt free.