A four-storey modular building will replace the old  Salvation Army Community & Family Services building, which was more than 130 years old. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

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Construction well underway on new-look Nanaimo Salvation Army hub

Feb 18, 2025 | 4:56 PM

NANAIMO — Vastly expanded housing and dining services are within reach at a key downtown Nanaimo social agency provider.

Salvation Army’s New Hope Centre is in the midst of a significant renewal with a modernized four-storey complex replacing the facility’s demolished 135-year-old two-storey Community & Family Services building.

Salvation Army New Hope Centre executive director Bern Muller said their enlarged side-by-side facility will feature a total of 85 beds, including 52 emergency shelter beds for men.

“What we’ve been told is that we should have occupancy of the New Hope Centre in its entirety at Christmas next year,” Muller told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Nineteen Correctional Residential Facility (CRF) beds for men and women released from jail will be in place.

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Foundational work at the new portion of Salvation Army’s downtown site on Nicol St. is expected to be done next month. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

The expanded facility represents a notable boost in emergency beds, which will more than double in availability, Muller noted.

As for new programming, Muller said fourteen supportive housing beds for men are included in the project on top of their emergency shelter and CRF components.

“We’re very excited about it,” Muller said regarding the new beds known as Pathway of Hope, which he said represents a new approach undertaken by Salvation Army in Canada.

“It places accountability and responsibility on the client to identify and to work on personal goals with the support of a case worker that helps to connect them with people, agencies and programs that can help them realize those goals,” Muller said.

Pathway of Hope includes assurances of a bed for up to a year for compliant participants.

Additional capacity at New Hope Centre allows Salvation Army personnel the ability to help more people who demonstrate a willingness for increased independence, Muller added.

He said their philosophy is to connect with people who want help, followed by identifying and addressing barriers getting in the way.

“There are people who want to help and want to support a transition from a path of hopelessness to a path where there are different options and there is a future where they can look forward with hope.”

Since the spring of 2023, the Salvation Army has been using the commercial kitchen at the old White Spot on Terminal Ave. to prepare daily breakfast meals.

Muller said they prepare around 200 insulated breakfast meals daily, which are then delivered to the street-entrenched population.

He said not having their own commercial-grade kitchen has limited their food production output by about 50 per cent.

Between 1888 and 2024 (More than 135 years) the building on the right stood in downtown Nanaimo. Salvation Army’s New Hope Centre on the left was built in 2007. (file photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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