The Shalom Center has announced expansion and renovation plans at its permanent facility.
The agency received approval from the city Plan Commission on Thursday to construct a 9,800-square-foot addition to house its food pantry, which will relocate from its current home at 8043 Sheridan Road to the shelter at 4314 39th Ave.
The project would need final approval next month from the City Council.
"The opportunity to be able to have one location for both of our facilities is huge," Shalom Center executive director Tamarra Coleman said. "It's going to create a lot of efficiencies that we need to better serve not only our clients, but our soup kitchen and the kitchen needs. We're very excited about this."
The food panty on Sheridan Road will close once the addition is completed. Work is expected to begin as soon as the project is approved and could be completed before the end of the year, according to Coleman.
There will be a separate entrance to the pantry on the west side of the building and a warehouse in between the area and shelter.
Serving more than 120 clients per day, the pantry will feature three shifts of community shopping days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with designated days for veterans on Tuesday and Thursday.
"The pantry will not be open during the same times as our soup kitchen, so there will never be an overlap for clients with parking," Coleman said. "That's another bonus for us."
The project also calls for renovation of a 1,800-square-foot area in the west part of the building. The space will be reconfigured and used as a designated area for the shelter's growing population of women.
The renovation, funded by a grant from the Kenosha Community Foundation, will increase the size of the facility from 82 to 94 beds.
Additional staff, and funding, will be needed with increased capacity, according to Coleman.
"I think I'm more excited about the reconfiguration part," Coleman said. "It will give us an opportunity to increase our women's shelter, and that's what it's all about. We're able to service more people."
The Shalom Center will celebrate the second anniversary of its permanent shelter on Sept. 11.
