The Salvation Army announced Wednesday that it is expanding its facility at 601 S. Washington St. in Bismarck.

In recent years, the Salvation Army's social services offices, food pantry and emergency disaster services have been located on the west side of the river in Mandan, while its worship facilities, community center and children's activities have been run in the Bismarck facility. Though the Mandan offices closed in 2005, many of its services are now administered through an office on Missouri Drive in Bismarck.

A $1 million, 6,500-square-foot expansion and renovation project will bring all the services under one roof. The monies will be raised through donations and other fundraising activities, said Michael Bommarito, operations and development director for the Salvation Army of Bismarck-Mandan.

Of that amount, $900,000 will be used to expand the current building to the south, and $100,000 will go to renovations of the current 8,500-square-foot space, which includes a chapel, gym, classrooms and offices. The project will add seven offices and three large classrooms, an emergency disaster center and larger food pantry. Improvements will include new flooring, paint and a new phone system on the interior, along with new signs and billboards. Bommarito said the groundbreaking is proposed for September.

Maj. Dale Hale, who, with his wife, Maj. Sharon Hale, is administrator of the Salvation Army of Bismarck-Mandan, said the growth in services makes the Washington Street building undersized for its needs.

The important advantage to the expansion is the integration of services, Bommarito said. One central location means that it will be easier to connect people to the Salvation Army's multiple programs, he said.

The community center building at 601 S. Washington St. is just a few blocks from Bismarck Expressway and is on the Bis/Man CAT bus route and within an easy walk of many Burleigh County Housing units, Hale said.

In the expansion, space for the food pantry will more than double, from 400 to 950 square feet, and plans are to expand its hours to include weekends, Bommarito said.

The pantry will connect to the emergency disaster services center, a two-stall garage with enough space for an emergency feeding vehicle, emergency supplies and shuttle bus, Bommarito said.

This will allow the Salvation Army to work more efficiently with other disaster agencies, according to volunteer EDS coordinator Al Materi, who heads a three-person volunteer staff that serves all of southwest North Dakota.

The expansion will also reduce wasted staff time driving back and forth between facilities, Bommarito said.

For more information, visit www.thesalarmy.com/bismarck.htm.