McALLEN — With the snip of the scissors, it was official — the Salvation Army was open to the public again.
City and Salvation Army officials and ambassadors stood in a row with gleaming faces Friday as they prepared to reopen the Salvation Army building, located at 1600 N. 23rd St. in McAllen.
They stood in prayer after cutting the ribbon. They prayed in hope, in dedication and faith that the building will continue to help the Rio Grande Valley community.
Juan Vargas from Advance Construction Technology, the architect for the project, said his work began in February, which included major changes in the overall look of the building. He explained that some of the changes consisted of remodeling, ceiling changes, suspended lighting and other indoor changes as well as some touching up.
“It is 22,000 square feet. It didn’t grow, it was just remodeled,” Vargas said, adding that prior to the remodel much of the building’s structure and material was outdated. “For me, it was basically the appearance, the walls and everything that was too outdated and old and so I just gave it a twist and made it look more modern and nice.”
Captain Adolph Aguirre, commanding officer of the Salvation Army in McAllen-Hidalgo county, said the remodeling was paid for by various fundraisers, funds provided by their advisory board members, and a donation by Bob Boggus of Boggus Ford.
“We were able to keep the project down to just $700,000,” Aguirre said.”It’s really a $2.4 million project but we were able to work with some great contractors ACT, Refco (commercial construction company), to keep the cost down.”
Aguirre said that the idea to renovate the building began almost three years ago; however, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As the pandemic was dwindling down we decided to go ahead and start the renovations last year around August, so it took about a year to renovate the inside and outside,” Aguirre said.
With the remodel now completed, Aguirre looks to the future of the Salvation Army in a positive light as he has already noticed an increase in volunteers at the nonprofit.
He explained that the remodel helps emphasize and bring more awareness toward the Salvation Army.
“It’s brought volunteers that are so desperately needed for a nonprofit that can’t afford to hire employees,” Aguirre said
He also added that the nonprofit will be offering their banquet hall or fellowship hall to civic clubs to help bring more attention to the Salvation Army, which will help provide financial support that will allow the continuation of programs including the shelter, community kitchen, social services and rental assistance as well as others.
Although the remodel was just completed, the project doesn’t stop there. In fact, Aguirre explained that they are in the process of building a 10,000-square-foot warehouse in the back of the building that will serve as a disaster response warehouse and distribution point.
