Salvation Army Spokane has sold two properties in Spokane Valley in an effort to secure long-term financial stability for its many social service programs.

The Spokane chapter of the Salvation Army, known formally as the Salvation Army Spokane Citadel Corps, previously operated a thrift store and storage facility on two neighboring lots located at 11211 E. Sprague and 21 N. Skipworth Road, in Spokane Valley, that are just over a half-acre in size each. The two lots were sold separately to investors for a combined price of nearly $2 million, says Steven Daines, designated broker at Spokane-based Daines Capital Commercial Real Estate.

Daines handled both transactions. He says the new owner of the old thrift store building, GNM Group LLC, is planning to develop a liquor store in the space. Separately, MK Investments Holding LLC is planning a two-unit flex warehouse in the former storage building.

"They're putting a lot into it, and it'll look like a different building by the time it's done," Daines says of the remodel of the storage building. 

Capt. David Cain, of the Salvation Army Spokane, says the decision to sell the two properties was not taken lightly and was driven by a mix of economic conditions.

"We realized that our Valley store wasn't as successful as our store in downtown Spokane, between Division and Ruby," Cain says. "So we made the difficult decision to close the Spokane Valley store and centralize all of our thrift store work in the operation out of Spokane."

The organization also is contending with a challenging economic climate that's affecting government contracts and operational costs, Cain explains. Programs are becoming harder to fund, compelling the nonprofit to find creative ways to remain solvent, such as the sale of assets. 

Furthermore, some government contracts the nonprofit relies on aren't keeping up with the rate of inflation, along with state budget cuts and employee wage increases that are putting pressure on the organization. 

"This isn't an emergency move. This is a strategic move," says Cain. "We're not in trouble as much as the forecast moving forward appears to be challenging." 

Funds from the sale will help provide financial stability for the nonprofit's programs, he says.

"We're taking the money from the sale, and we're able to roll that into reserve accounts ... and provide long-term sustainability for the programs that we offer here in Spokane," Cain says. 

The Salvation Army's programming here includes Sally's House, a 20-bed shelter for children 2 to 12; Evangeline's House, a six-bed shelter for youth ages 12 to 20; and the Nurturing Center, where supervised visits for families who are working to regain custody of children in foster care take place.

The Salvation Army also operates a 60-bed homeless shelter program, dubbed The Way Out, that helps transition individuals to housing through a six-month program; a 30-unit transitional apartment complex with case management, budgeting, and parenting classes provided for families; and Camp Gifford, a summer camp on Deer Lake, Washington, that hosts about 700 children annually.

"It's an incredible array of services that we offer to the Spokane community, and we're not willing to budge on letting any of the programs go," says Cain.