The Salvation Army is proposing to build a new 35,232-square-feet warehouse at the 440 West Nyack Road property in West Nyack where its Eastern Territory Headquarters is located. According to Peter F. Gaito & Associates, an architectural and engineering firm based in White Plains, the proposed warehouse will “serve as a centralized storage facility for donated supplies intended for individuals and families recovering from major and minor disasters, such as fires, floods, and other emergencies. The building consolidates materials currently stored across various areas in the existing Salvation Army building and garage, ensuring more efficient storage and distribution operations.”
The Salvation Army operates in an office building on the property that at one time was the site of the St. Regis Paper Company. The Salvation Army operates a museum in the building as well as The Crestview Conference Center, which offers space for various events including concerts, lectures and business meetings.
Gaito described the portion of the 24.37-acre property where the warehouse would be sited as an empty field surrounded by woods with no steep slopes and a wetland area at the west side of the property that will not be disturbed by the proposed work. It’s estimated that 91 trees would be taken down in the approximately 5.3-acres that would be distributed for the construction.
The warehouse would be 34 feet high at its highest point.
The warehouse would be used to store non-hazardous items such as bottled water, sanitary products, first aid kits, bedding, clothing, and other emergency supplies used when the Salvation Army is called upon to support disaster recovery. Times of operation would depend on whether there are on-going disaster recovery operations and could be seven days a week.
“Deliveries will be held in inventory in pre-arranged palletized racking systems, or be short term held for staging to forward operating locations in disaster impacted areas across the northeast,” Gaito said in documents filed with the Town of Clarkstown seeking approval of plans for the project. “These goods will move out in box trucks, that serve as our frontline delivery vehicles in times of disasters. These products will be maintained in inventory or procured through donations from corporate partners and disaster donors to help meet the needs of disaster survivors.”
The plans show designated parking for delivery vehicles and as well as a loading and unloading zone. It’s anticipated that there will be too many people working inside of the warehouse except during disaster recovery operations and the number of outdoor parking spaces for the warehouse is shown as 38. The overall property that includes the main office building has more than 800 parking spaces available.
“The proposed warehouse will enhance the Salvation Army’s ability to respond promptly to community needs during emergencies while minimizing operational impacts on the surrounding area,” Gaito said.
