Salvation Army Renovations to Start Next Month

“This has been years in coming,” said Divisional Secretary Major Gayle Senak, a representative from the Salvation Army’s state offices. “It’s a 5.8 million dollar project, some of the funds for which came out of the sale of our Berkeley Street property.”

Senak came out to speak to the Blackstone & Franklin Square Neighborhood Association Tuesday night about imminent renovations to the Salvation Army building on Washington Street in the South End. The visit was strictly a courtesy to put any concerned residents at ease since the project has successfully passed through the hands of all gatekeepers - construction is slated to begin May 1 with an estimated completion date of March 1, 2012.

Senak came to the meeting with Core Office Administrator (and, incidentally, Pastor) Gregory Norman and Ted Butler of Suffolk Construction, the firm overseeing the project.

“We’ve been here for over seventy years,” Norman said, echoing a comment from Senak about the organization’s ongoing commitment to the South End. “That we’re continuing to expand this many years on is nothing short of remarkable.”

According to Norman, the 1934 brick building across from Blackstone Elementary is desparately in need of renovations—it hasn’t seen any major structural work since the '70s. Amongst other things, the expansion will include a new entrance for certain departments, a new elevator, a more centralized worship sanctuary, an area for conferences and workshops and additional space for the Social Services Department (a portion of which is currently operating out of the Salvation Army’s Dudley facility).

Construction will be located mainly on the backside of the building, not the Washington Street facade, he said.

With so many area churches shutting down, neighborhood association chair Andrew Parthum wondered why the Salvation Army would be utilizing space for church services. Norman explained that in the tradition of its Boys Club origins, part of the Salvation Army’s mission is to provide a safe place for men to come and engage in healthy activities. He cited increasing attendance at free community meals sometimes served on Saturdays and Sundays as scenarios in which important relationships are cultivated.

“These are people that we may be able to get to come to Sunday services,” Norman said. “We’re hoping to inspire a new multi-cultural congregation.”

As far as construction goes, Butler assured the audience that impact to life on Washington Street would be minimal.

“The plan is not to touch anything on Washington Street,” he said. “The sidewalk in front will remain open for the project’s duration, although the one facing Mystic Street will have to be closed for a period. The construction dumpsters will be behind the building, and that’s where vehicles will enter and exit."

Athough the front masonry will get cleaned and the windows will be replaced, no scaffolding will be used, he added.

The South End project is just one of several Salvation Army rehab-efforts in the area, Senak said. Improvements at the organization's Dudley location are nearing completion after a massive endowment from the Croc family, founders of McDonald's. The facility is now called the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center.

The men's addiction facility on Mass Ave. in Cambridge is also undergoing renovations, which include an expansion of the daycare center's capacity. The center provides daycare for homeless children, the first-ever of its kind.