After 42 years in the basement of First Presbyterian Church, a “wall-breaking” ceremony April 4 launched construction on a new home for the Downtown Ecumenical Services Council.
DESC says it provides services to more than 7,000 people in need each year, including food, clothing, work boots and restaurant shoes and emergency financial assistance.
DESC's new home will be in a 10,000-square-foot warehouse at 956 N. Liberty St. in Jacksonville’s near Eastside. It is north of the historic former National Guard Armory and about a half-mile north of its current location at 118 E. Monroe St.
Property records show the building was constructed in 1938.
In 2023, Vince and Linda Ferrigno bought the building as part of their $1 million gift to create a new facility, DESC said in a news release.
Additional donors include the Lucy Gooding Charitable Foundation Trust; the Hall-Halliburton Foundation; the Terry Family Foundation; the Edna Sproull Williams Foundation; The Lord’s Foundation; the Thomas M. and Irene Kirbo Charitable Foundation; and numerous individuals.
DESC says it has raised slightly more than $2 million of its $2.9 million capital campaign goal.
“Our hope is that the transformation of this building will help DESC continue to transform the lives of its clients,” David Clark, Downtown Ecumenical Services Council executive director, said in the release.
“There are so many who need help and there is so much more we can do to support them. We are deeply grateful to Vince and Linda and all of the donors who have made today a reality.”
The new facility will offer amenities that are not possible in DESC’s basement space, including street-level access with parking and transit access.
They include a lobby with adjacent restrooms and private counseling rooms. The building will be fully accessible, allowing DESC to offer services like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program registration that require ADA-compliant facilities.
In keeping with DESC’s faith-based mission, a prayer room will offer a quiet space for clients, staff or visitors.
The building will have a large community room for meetings, work sessions, programs and education offerings.
The back half of the building will have storage for clothing and groceries. There will be a loading bay for delivering donations.
Dasher Hurst Architects is providing design services. Crabtree Construction is handling renovations, Rebecca Davisson Interior Design is providing interior design and Office Images will furnish the space. All of these professionals have donated some or all of their services.
Before the April 4 wall-breaking, the Liberty Street building received a new roof and preliminary site work.
While DESC is continuing to raise money for the project, it expects to occupy the new building before the end of the year.
A group of local churches founded the Downtown Ecumenical Services Council in the early 1980s and it received its charter in 1983.
Its mission is to meet the needs of people in emergency situations or experiencing poverty.
