Salvation Army State Headquarters—Former Lewis School Property

The Salvation Army broke ground Thursday on a $25 million new headquarters campus in Birmingham that will house administrative offices plus emergency relief services including overnight accommodations for homeless men, women and children.

The 4.1-acre campus will feature a renovation of the former Lewis Elementary School building, 2015 26th Avenue North, as its centerpiece, located just north of Finley Boulevard on the east side of Interstate 65 at the Finley Boulevard exit.

Construction on the campus should be complete by Sept. 1, 2017, said Jim Gorrie, chief executive officer of Brasfield & Gorrie, which is overseeing construction.

“As I learned more about the Salvation Army I wanted to become more involved,” said Gorrie, who has served on the Salvation Army board of directors for the past 10 years and is campaign co-chair for the project along with Wayne Gillis and Carl Jernigan. Gorrie and his wife, Alison, have pledged more than $1 million toward the project. Phase one of construction of the Center of Hope will be funded by the Building Hope Capital Campaign initiative, a $15.1 million capital campaign.