New shelter plans call for demolition of nearly 100-year-old Peoria building

A nearly 100-year-old Peoria building may be razed to make way for a new shelter.

The Salvation Army received permission from the Peoria Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday to build a new low-barrier men's shelter on its Jefferson Street campus.

The new shelter will be 13,400-square-feet and will be built where the nearly 100-year-old Labor Temple building currently sits at 400 NE Jefferson St. A parking lot will be built where the current men's shelter and veterans' center are located.

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Salvation Army representative Craig Young told the commission the new facility would be the only low-barrier shelter in the city, which means any single man who is not a registered sex offender and doesn't have a history of violence at shelters can stay there.

Young said the five-story Labor Temple building will be torn down and said there is nothing left inside of it that has any salvageable value. He also told the commission the building is believed to be filled with asbestos.

Originally dedicated in 1925, the Labor Temple housed the business offices of dozens of labor unions for almost a century. It was listed for sale in November 2022 for almost $800,000.

The Salvation Army acquired the property for $250,000, according to the Peoria County clerk's office.

Programming and services will not be changed at the new facility, but Young told the commission Thursday the new building is an improvement they've needed to make "for sometime."

The issue will go before the Peoria City Council for approval on April 23.

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This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria Labor Temple may be torn down for new Salvation Army shelter