Catholic Charities Spokane says its renovating a medical office building on the lower South Hill in a nearly $5 million project that will allow it to consolidate most of its programs under one roof.


The nonprofit plans to use the structure, located at 12 E. Fifth, to house 11 of its 15 programs here, says spokeswoman Loreen McFaul. The building also will house the organizations administrative offices, which have been located at the Catholic Pastoral Center, at 1023 W. Riverside, for more than 40 years, she says.


The renovated structure, to be called the Catholic Charities Family Service Center, is expected to be completed late this winter, McFaul says.


The programs that will be housed there include Bernadette Place, Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Catholic Relief Services, Childbirth and Parenting Alone Program, Christmas Bureau, Refugee and Immigration Services, and Respect Life, among others.


Those programs currently are scattered across the Spokane area, says Rob McCann, executive director of Catholic Charities. McCann says that consolidating the programs will be more convenient for clients and will save Catholic Charities $109,000 a year on leases.


Catholic Charities chose the site in part because its near some of its other buildings, including St. Annes Children and Family Center, St. Margarets Shelter, and the House of Charity, he says.


The 96-year-old organization, which employs a total of 220 people at offices across Eastern Washington, plans to house 85 of those employees in the new center, McFaul says.


The remodeling project at the two-story, 22,000-square-foot building will involve gutting the structure and building 60 offices, as well as space for Transitions, a nonprofit deli and coffee shop, says Ann Martin, owner of Spokane-based Heylman Martin Architects, which designed the project. Garco Construction Inc., of Spokane, is the contractor.


Catholic Charities has raised roughly $1.8 million for the center, including a $500,000 grant from the Bill & Melissa Gates Foundation, McCann says. Its applying for more grants and is seeking funds from foundations, companies, and public and private donors to raise the rest of the money for the project, he says.