WORK COULD BEGIN this summer on a project that promises to improve the lives of at-risk children, families and senior residents living on the Northside.

Officials with the Metro Jackson Area Salvation Army say plans for the multimillion-dollar Corps Community Center are on their way to Atlanta for approval from territorial headquarters. Cpt. John Showers, a corps officer in Jackson, said that pending their approval, construction on the massive project could begin in the next 45-50 days.

Once completed, the center will provide the Christian charity with a new tool to serve more people and expand its civic services if needed. Through the center, the group hopes to begin a new after school program for underprivileged students and senior citizen programs for older adults.

Showers, commanding officer of the Jackson metro office, said the facility will also allow the Salvation Army to start a new summer program for students.

“We’ll be able to keep kids off the streets and give them a structured environment where they can do their homework, interact with other kids and stay out of trouble,” he said.

The facility will sit on 16 acres on Beasley Road in North Jackson and feature a worship center that will seat 250 people, classrooms, a full-size gymnasium and fitness center, computer labs, a senior citizens day center, walking track and athletic fields.

Construction on the project will likely take 12 months to complete, Showers said. “This will be the last building we build in Jackson for a while,” he said.

The facility is expected to last the organization for at least 50 years. It will be modeled after a universal design created by the Salvation Army that will allow for future expansion, but was tweaked by local architects to better meet the specific needs of the Jackson community.



THE SALVATION ARMY recently awarded the project to JH&H Architects in Jackson. “We’ve been here for a long time,” Showers said. “When we put the project out for bid, we selected them because they’ve done work on a lot of local churches and community centers and have a good reputation.”

Showers said plans were finalized locally last week.

Scott Booth, a project manager with the firm, recently explained their role in designing the facility. “The managing partner overseeing the project visited the center in Georgia and decided that we needed to tweak the exterior to give it more presence,” he said.

“We’re not changing it dramatically,” he said. “We’re simply adding some horizontal banding and masonry work.” The firm also modified the design to make its rooms easier to use. It will be shaped much like a giant cog, which will allow for new wings to be added to it with relative ease - and without affecting programs already going on within it.

The local chapter now has administrative offices, a small chapel and the Center of Hope men’s and women’s shelters on Presto Lane. While those facilities will still be used, the new community center, said Showers, will be geared more toward family activities.

Locally, the group serves about 75 children and is planning to send another 116 underprivileged children to summer camp in Lexington, Miss.

The Salvation Army has been in Jackson for more than 100 years, with past locations on West Pascagoula Street and another in South Jackson.

About five years ago, the army built a men’s shelter on Presto Lane. The state-of-the-art facility was later expanded to include a chapel, women’s shelter and administrative offices. A large thrift store is adjacent to the facility.

Although the facility is large, it doesn’t have the space to house children during emergencies. And, after two expansion projects at the location, there’s not a lot of room left to add on to. The new facility will take up half of its 16 acres on Beasley and will allow for future growth.