The building on North Seventh Street that once housed Lund’s Used Furniture will be coming down in a demolition process that will start today.

In its place will rise a new storage facility and garage for The Salvation Army, which is located right next door at 126 N. Seventh St.

The new building will be paid for with money given to The Salvation Army through wills and trusts that is specifically designated for capital projects.

None of the money that people drop into the red kettles during the Christmas season will be used for it, according to Capt. Linda McCormick, commanding officer of the local Salvation Army. She added that none of the money from donations that people mail to The Salvation Army will be used either. Money from the red kettles and other donations is used to pay for the food programs and daily operations only.

“I do not want people to think we’re using their money to pay for this when we have people to feed,” McCormick said. “I do not want that connotation at all.”

The demolition project will cause some changes in the daily routine at The Salvation Army building. McCormick said that she doesn’t want anyone in the building while the second floor of the old furniture store is being taken down. Therefore, the lunch program and the daily bread giveaway will be conducted outside on the north side of The Salvation Army building.

Rasch Construction Inc., of Fort Dodge, is the demolition contractor.

The new building, expected to be completed next spring, will replace a garage that has a dirt floor and a leaky roof. The conditions in that garage will ruin the kettles and other supplies stored there, according to McCormick.

“We’re trying to stay fiscally responsible so we don’t have to repurchase what we already have,” she said. “We want to take care of what we do own.”

She said the new building will house all of the kettle campaign supplies and all of the vehicles.

She added that it will probably also have a couple of showers that would be used if The Salvation Army building is ever utilized as an emergency shelter. She said homeless people may also be offered the use of the showers.