$300,000 Needed to Finish New Building : Lack of Funds Stalls Move by Rescue Mission

The San Diego Rescue Mission is $300,000 short of being able to complete its new building and move out of its current site in the Gaslamp Quarter.

The mission was given a year from June, 1984, to leave the site, but lack of money has stalled the move. Mission Director John Flohr said construction is continuing at the new building, on J Street between 11th and 12th avenues, despite money problems, and he expects the move to the new location to take place by October.

The mission’s present building is in an area scheduled for redevelopment. The move was forced when the city used its power of eminent domain to oust the mission from its 5th Avenue location.

Gaslamp Quarter Council Chairman Judi Carroll said she is working closely with those interested in raising donations to ensure that the mission can make the move.

Art Skolnik, executive director of the Gaslamp Quarter Council, said, “We are supportive of that effort. It’s in our interest in particular to see them move.” Skolnik said that a few months ago some people “were getting hostile” because the mission would not be moved by the time Horton Plaza opened. But Skolnik said the mission’s financial plight was not known at the time, and since then many people have come together to help, including developer Ernest W. Hahn.

Carroll said she is amazed at what the mission itself has done.

“These are people who are not project managers or professional fund-raisers,” she said, “and without help . . . what they’ve done is remarkable. They (mission workers) serve a very real need downtown.”

Flohr said the mission was contemplating an expansion when the City Council acted but was not prepared to relocate.

“We had to start from scratch,” he said. “We didn’t have any plans for fund raising.”

The $1-million building nearing completion is three times larger than the current mission, and can house 250 people a night.

Flohr said volunteers are working to get additional funding for the new mission. The sale of the old building to Bill Shockey, member of a certified public accounting firm, resulted in $600,000 for the mission.

Although the mission is three months overdue on vacating its Gaslamp building, Shockey said he is not pressuring the mission to move.

“The Rescue Mission has been a great operation,” he said. “I’ve been associated with it for the 20 years I’ve been here. The people who run it are friends of mine. I’m not the stickler landlord who is going to give out eviction notices.”

Shockey said he has plans to turn the historical landmark site into a restaurant and hotel.

Flohr said the move to the new two-story mission is a blessing. The new mission will be able to serve 1,000 meals per seating, compared to the current 500 to 700, and the chapel will hold 800 instead of 299.

The new mission will also house 20 more men in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program that now has 42 participants. The program provides a place to stay while participants acquire job skills and look for work.

The mission is entirely dependent on donations, Flohr said, and has a current annual budget of $348,000. He said he expects the budget at the new building to run close to $700,000.