Kalamazoo Gospel Mission has announced its intention to construct a new building downtown to serve women and children in need. If built, the new structure would replace four aging and dilapidated buildings along
North Burdick St. At least two of these edifices looks to have historic merits, but the whole assemblage has been quite remuddled, and they are apparently in pretty bad shape and they are only utilizing about 10% of the space within these particular four buildings. I don't believe that they are beyond repair, but certainly prohibitive costs would be involved for an organization that depends mostly on donations to practice its mission of service to the homeless, hurting, and hungry. A new, cohesive building would likely serve them much better.
It's not a source of pride, but Kalamazoo has a disproportionate homeless challenge for a city of its size. Kalamazoo was recently called out as having the greatest concentration of homeless children in the entire state of Michigan, and the greatest percentage of homeless students. The Gospel Mission has raised more than $2 million already. The completed shelter expansion is expected to house nearly 200 women and children.
Quote:
$3M campaign underway to help build new shelter for women and children
AL Jones | MLive
April 19, 2018
KALAMAZOO, MI - "A Shelter From Their Storm" is the name of the fund-raising campaign intended to raise $3 million to help build a new women and children's shelter at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission.
"Currently one of our facilities is actually four old buildings that are dilapidated, that are not serving their purpose any more," said Pastor Michael Brown, president and chief executive officer of the Gospel Mission, locate at 448 N. Burdick St. in downtown Kalamazoo. "They're far beyond repair and we're not able to renovate. And so what we want to do is replace those old buildings..."
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Source:
MLive | Courtesy Kalamazoo Gospel Mission / Schley Architects
Screen shots of floor Plans with some Photoshop skewing to counteract perspective of the camera angle (not super-great quality):
First Floor
Second Floor
Third Floor
Source:
WWMT | Courtesy Kalamazoo Gospel Mission / Schley Architects