Anchorage’s Downtown Hope Center looking to expand

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Supporters say its programs change lives, which is one reason why Sherrie Laurie, Director of the Downtown Hope Center, is looking to expand. The faith-based non-profit operates a building on Third Avenue and Cordova Street that houses a soup kitchen, culinary training program, offices and an 80 bed women’s shelter.

“We are just kind of popping out of the seams here,” Laurie said.

The baking and culinary classes the center has offered since 2016 have been remarkably successful, according to Laurie.

“We’ve had over 250 graduates, the success rate getting jobs after graduation is about 90%.”

But in order to expand, they need more space, which is why Laurie is eyeing a building right across the street.

The Plaza 201 building at 201 E Avenue is up for sale with an asking price of just over $2 million, according to Laurie, who said a generous donor has offered to match every dollar raised up to $1 million. She said the expanded space would allow them to move offices and classrooms from their original building into the new one, which in turn could offer a much larger selection of training programs to people who are experiencing homelessness.

”We’ll have bigger classrooms, we will have more classrooms, and more options to train people in trades,” Laurie said. “Construction, electricians, things that they can actually take from here and go and use them for different companies.”

Laurie said another advantage is that the upper floor of their current building could then transition into a dormitory for men so that more men could take part in the training programs.

Laurie said the nonprofit still needs to raise about $500,000 to purchase the building and has started a GoFundMe account with that goal in mind.

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