Inka Bajandas//April 21, 2015//
An expansion of the Salvation Army Gresham Corps’ community center is nearing completion and plans are in the works for a third addition.
Crews from Beaverton-based general contractor Yorke & Curtis are putting the finishing touches on the 6,400-square-foot building addition and a new 6,700-square-foot covered basketball court, said Chris Walker, an associate with Portland-based CIDA Architects & Engineers, the project architect and structural engineer. A dedication ceremony is scheduled for May 1 at 2 p.m. at the project site at 473 S.E. 194th Ave.
The new addition includes a multipurpose room, food pantry and commercial kitchen to serve meals to participants in programs held at the center, such as vacation bible school, youth groups and family nights.
Plans call for the center to eventually total approximately 30,000 square feet, but Salvation Army officials decided to break the project into three phases because of the cost, Walker said. The first phase – a chapel and the youth center building – was completed in 2008.
CIDA started design work on the second phase in 2012 and the project broke ground last summer, Walker said.
CIDA has done some initial conceptual plans for the third phase, but the Salvation Army hasn’t yet raised the funds to complete the project, Walker said. Plans for that phase call for a 3,600-square-foot addition to the family services and corps office, a 2,000-square-foot addition to the youth center and a new playground.