A new warming center for those out on the streets opened in Spokane on Wednesday evening.
The Salvation Army is running the center, located in the old National Furniture Store on Elmira Avenue, just off Division.
In the short-term, it can hold up to 50 people. Eventually, it's expected to hold up to 120, making it by far the largest such facility in the city.
It provides warmth to those who are homeless, as well as small mats and blankets, which are neatly organized on the building's concrete floor.
The facility will not provide meals or showers, but does have several portable toilets set up just outside.
It is pet-friendly and the Salvation Army has several crates ready, donated by the Spokane Humane Society, in case they are needed.
It will be open through March 31st, from 8 p.m. each night until 7 a.m. the next morning.
The size and location of the facility are concerning to some of the people who live and work nearby. Tammy Hull, who owns Litz's Bar & Grill just across the street from the new center, worries it might affect her business.
"I think it it's going to affect it. I'm hoping it doesn't," Hull said.
Hull said she is trying to stay positive, but has had bad experiences in the past with people camping nearby.
"We cleaned up the back area of our building and within day, there was a mattress and backpacks and boxes and paraphernalia," she said. "I've had to hire people to come in and clean it out."
Hull said she's not the only one in the area who's apprehensive about the warming center.
"I've talked to several of the [other] business owners. They're not happy," she said.
Hull also said nobody from the Salvation Army or the city notified her the center was opening. She heard about it second-hand only two days prior.
"We're respectful. We've been here a long time. And we do a lot here for the community," she said. "And I'm just... I have a lot of questions still."
The Salvation Army would not make anyone available for an on-the-record interview Wednesday.
The Salvation Army website states the shelter is crucial in order to "provide sanctuary from below freezing winter temperatures to Spokane’s at-risk homeless population."
