The Parker Task Force for Human Services is hoping to break ground on a new building later this year as the nonprofit has outgrown its current location as services continue to expand.
The task force is planning to construct a new, 8,400-square-foot building at roughly Dransfeldt Road and Longs Way in the fourth quarter of this year. The organization deeded the land in December and bought it for $425,000, with a $150,000 donation from the town.
Parker Task Force spokeswoman Diane Roth said the nonprofit expects the total cost of the project to be $1.2 million and the organization has taken out a $550,000 bank loan, with about $717,000 in the bank. Steve Budnack, volunteer chairman for the task force, said the timing for moving into the new building depends on when construction can start, but he hopes to be there by this time next year.
The Parker Task Force provides food, utility, health and other forms of assistance to residents of Parker, Franktown and Elbert County. The 27-year-old organization is currently housed in the old town hall building, which is not conducive to the services volunteers provide, Roth said.
“We have narrow hallways and storage rooms off of those narrow hallways … so our layout is less than ideal,” Roth said. “Getting into the new building will allow us to have a much more efficient layout.”
This will include a shopping room where three — as opposed to two — clients will be able to shop for perishables and non-perishables in one location, and where volunteers will be able to store food, which the task force doesn’t have the capacity for now. The shopping room will go from the current 400 square feet to 2,200 square feet.
The task force will also have more capacity for more clients, which is important as client numbers are up 14 percent this year, Roth said. Budnack said the organization served about 8,600 people last year and has a regular client load of about 700 individuals and families this year.
“We see people are back to work, but they are not back to where they were years ago,” Budnack said. “They’re struggling in paying for their families and their everyday expenses.”
He said the task force needs a new space to conduct client interviews, which are currently done in cubicles with no dividers, meaning other people there might overhear sensitive conversations. This new building will allow for more privacy.
The new building will also allow the task force to expand existing services like the school backpack program, in which students classified as homeless by the Douglas County School District get a backpack full of food every weekend, as well as the growing senior program, in which those 60 or older can visit the food bank a couple times a month for as long as they need.
Architect Kris Belter with Intergroup Architects was able to offer reduced fees for his company’s service to keep costs down on the new project. That was important to him because he lives in Parker.
“I think it’s going to be a great addition to the community and they’re going to be able to provide so much more than they can right now in an efficient manner because right now they’re kind of bursting at the seams,” Belter said. “I think it’s going to make them that much more of a stronger organization.”