BLOOMINGTON -- The Salvation Army sold the former site of its Safe Harbor shelter for $25,000 to downtown developer Mike Manna, according to McLean County property records.
The windows of the old brick building have been boarded up for months as the Salvation Army tried to find a buyer for the property at 212 N. Roosevelt Ave.
Salvation Army Capt. Scott Shelbourn said the local agency started receiving proposals for the building four years ago when the plans to build a new shelter began. The new Safe Harbor at 601 W. Washington St. opened in May.
"Because of the economy those proposals fell through," Shelbourn said. "This was the first offer we received that we could complete."
One proposal called for the land to be given to a local company that would pay for demolition of the building, Shelbourn said.
"I don't know what can be done with the building, but we don't have any use for it," Shelbourn said. "We didn't see the value of keeping the building."
How Manna will use the building or whether he will tear it down is not known. Calls to Manna were not immediately returned. Manna renovated the Blackstone-Artonia building, 305 W. Monroe St., into condominiums in 2006.
Money from the sale of the building will go toward operations of the new Safe Harbor, Shelbourn said.