The Salvation Army is looking to replace its men’s shelter with a new building — a move which would see the demolition of the recently acquired Peoria Labor Temple.
The proposal was heard Thursday by the City of Peoria Planning and Zoning Commission. Craig Young of the Salvation Army said none of the services offered will change, but they will be offered out of a new building.
The Salvation Army currently operates two shelters, a daycare, a food pantry and a veterans' service center.
The proposal would see three of the Salvation Army’s buildings replaced with the new shelter and a gated parking lot. The Salvation Army currently owns the whole block between Jefferson, Bryan, Adams, and Spalding.
In his proposal to the commission, Young stressed the importance of the men’s shelter to Peoria as the only low barrier shelter for single men experiencing homelessness.
“What that means by low barrier is, so long as they are not a registered sex offender and so long as they have not had problems with violence that cannot be managed on our property, they get a place to stay and they get food,” he said. “This is the only place in Peoria where that is true for single men.”
He said the agency has known for a while it needed to upgrade the shelter, and once the Labor Temple was acquired, those plans could progress.
Young said officials considered rehabilitating the nearly 100-year-old Peoria Labor Temple, but it was ultimately determined demolition would be best. He said anything of historical value already was been removed when the building was vacated in 2022.
The proposal passed the planning commission unanimously and will be heard at the April 23 meeting of the Peoria City Council.
