UPDATED 10/23 11:10 A.M.
PEORIA, Ill. – A new men’s shelter for Peoria’s Salvation Army has been approved by the Peoria City Council.
On Tuesday night, Council unanimously approved amended plans for a building that will be located at the corner of Jefferson and Bryan downtown.
Salvation Army Major Heath Sells says the new plans will allow them to help more individuals in need.
“Currently our men’s shelter can house about 45 individuals, but the new proposed two-story shelter will increase that capacity to over 70. And, last (Tuesday) night removed some of those barriers, those variances or easements, that will allow us to continue to move forward in that direction,” Sells says.
The Salvation Army’s existing shelter will remain operational while the new one is built.
The project received a two-million dollar grant from the state of Illinois about a week-and-a-half ago.
“This will allow us to continue to fundraise, to seek the finances that we need to build that facility, with the goal of completing that facility in December of 2026,” Sells says.
Major Sells says the Corps still needs to raise about $10 million to complete the project.
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PEORIA, Ill. – Peoria’s Salvation Army can move ahead with a new men’s shelter.
City council unanimously approved amended plans for the new shelter at the corner of Jefferson and Bryan Tuesday night’s meeting.
Peoria’s Director of Community Development Joe Dulin told council members the building will be two stories instead of one, along with vacating an alley on the property so it can be used for internal circulation.
He says the current men’s shelter will stay open while the new one is built, and be torn down after.
Dulin says the project received a $2 million state grant about a week-and-a-half ago.
No timeline has been given yet on when the project will begin.
