A pair of seven-figure charitable donations will enable the Peoria Salvation Army to begin work on overhauling its downtown campus later this year.
A soft kickoff gathering Thursday unveiled details of the renovation plans, highlighted by construction of a new two-story men’s shelter at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Bryan Street.
“We’re committed to doing the most good for those in our community most in need,” said Major Heath Sells, the Peoria Area Commander. “This will allow us not only to continue those day to day operations, but pivot and make sure that we are positioned for generations to come to continue to meet those needs.”
Construction on the project’s $18 million first phase and a formal capital fundraising campaign are both slated to begin this summer. The fundraising received an early boost with a pair of large gifts that will cover half of the initial cost.
Royal and Kathy Coulter, longtime owners of Peoria Disposal Company, pledged a $5 million gift, while the Fites Family Charitable Trust will contribute $4 million.
“This location has been here for 100-plus years, 140 years,” said Royal Coulter. “The community knows about it, and now we need everybody’s support financially to kind of raise the bar for this opportunity to make it successful. This probably will be one of the larger construction jobs in Peoria for [2025].”
Don Fites, the former Caterpillar CEO, said the upgrades will allow for continued operation of the “safety net” men’s shelter that’s currently housed in the Salvation Army’s family services center and was named for his late wife Sylvia Fites 20 years ago.
“I’ve always had admiration for what goes on here in Peoria and Salvation Army here in Peoria, which I was fortunate enough to get involved with around the world,” said Fites, a life member of the Salvation Army Peoria Advisory Board and former national board chair.
“Part of what we are going to do in this campaign is revitalize the Family Services Center that’s a part of the overall program. Of course, Sylvia is no longer with me; I lost her to Alzheimer’s. But she would be very proud to know that we are here again supporting the Salvation Army in Peoria, Illinois.”
Craig Young, the project manager for the Salvation Army, said preliminary work is expected to start with the demolition of the Labor Temple at the corner of Jefferson and Spalding in early March.
The new men’s shelter building will consist of 19,000 square feet of space, increasing capacity from 52 to 82 each night with separate areas for sleeping and dining.
“We can’t take the time here today to explain all of the details in that building that are mission-focused and designed to help us serve the clients we serve with greater dignity and with greater chance of, quite frankly, having success and moving them on to a better place in their life,” said Young, adding the current men’s shelter will remain in service during construction.
Many aspects of the first phase focus on safety and security. Entrances to the shelters will face Bryan Street, away from the existing child care center, and the entire campus will be surrounded by a fence.
“The Salvation Army is very committed to what we call ‘safe from harm’ for everybody – those who work here, our staff, our officers, our volunteers, but most importantly, those we serve,” said Young. “We have some issues with that on our current campus, and much of the planning that went into this was with safety in mind.”
Young said the project planning process included a detailed facilities audit that revealed the glaring need to update the entire campus.
“We are hindered, quite frankly, in many instances, in terms of delivering the services at the highest level that we should be delivering them at, in part because of some deficiencies in our facilities – and in some instances, some serious deficiencies with our facilities,” he said.
Other renovations included in the first phase include remodeling and expanding the family services center and revitalizing the building exteriors. Projects targeted for a $12 million second phase include expansion and renovation of the family shelter and food pantry.
“All of this really has at the core of it making sure that we’re delivering our services with more dignity, and doing it in a way that creates a greater chance for success and for those that we’re serving to improve their situation,” he said.
Sells said Peoria’s need for the services provided by the Salvation Army continue to grow.
“Homelessness is on the rise, mental health conditions, those who are underemployed or unemployed, a number of factors that contribute to that,” he said. “We want to have a place that treats them with dignity and give them opportunity to rebuild their lives.”
A groundbreaking for Phase One is planned for this summer, with construction targeted for completion by the end of 2026.
“We are absolutely committed to Phase One; it’s going to happen,” said Sells. “And if all we are able to do is Phase One, we will have a great success for the ministry and programs and services. But we’re going to put a full court press in to make sure Phase Two happens, and hopefully we’ll be able to make sure that we raise the funds to do that as well.”
