Salvation Army buys Kia building, plans Fran Cohen Youth Center

BUYER: The Salvation Army (principals: William Roberts, David Jeffrey, F. Bradford Bailey, Stephen Ellis, Samuel Henry and Larry Broome) Atlanta
SELLER: Naples Auto Investors I LLC
PROPERTY: 1472 Airport Road S., Naples
PRICE: $2.96 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $4.4 million, July 2004

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The Salvation Army Naples Corps purchased an 11,608-square-foot former Kia dealership building on 2.7 acres for $2.96 million.

The price equated to $255 per square foot. That figure is higher than the two-year average price per square foot for retail space ($140) in Southwest Florida, according to the CoStar Group.

Constructed in 2000, the freestanding building includes a showroom with offices, a second-floor mezzanine and 3,510 square feet of garage space.

The Salvation Army plans to renovate the existing building and construct a new gymnasium building. The project is being called the Fran Cohen Youth Center, and it will house The Salvation Army's after-school programs for children. The nonprofit currently has a small after-school program for 45 children, but with the new facility, it should be able to provide services to between 300 and 400 children.

“We are looking at having a groundbreaking toward the end of the year,” says Chris Nind, director of development and community relations for The Salvation Army. “We are hoping to have the construction completed in 2015. We liked this site because it adjoins our existing campus. Having it all in one campus makes it much safer for the children.”

The Salvation Army is running a capital campaign to raise $8.5 million for the project.