Renovations that will help serve generations.

That's how Loft Community Partnership (LCP) officials view the construction project that will soon get underway at its future home at 100 E. Charlotte St., Millersville.

On Oct. 9, LCP started a capital campaign to pay for those improvements. Having raised $800,000 to purchase the building, the nonprofit is looking to generate an additional $1.2 million to fund the renovations.

CCS Building Group will begin the project on Monday, Oct. 27, with a goal of completing the work in January 2026. LCP is seeking to raise the money by that time and move into the facility in February. Go to http://www.loftcp.org to contribute to the capital campaign.

The 10,000-square-feet building is approximately three times the size of LCP's current space located in Jefferson Hall at 164 W. Cottage Ave.

LCP capital campaign chair Joy Olcott said the project factors in the cost of the renovations and equipment. "We're feeding over 400 families a week, so we have a great need to fill in helping our neighbors in need," she said.

CCS Building Group is the contractor trusted with overseeing the work. "This project involves a combination of level one and level two alterations," said David Carrera, the project manager for the contractor, CCS Building Group. "Level two alterations are a reconfiguration of an existing facility into a kind of new use and purpose. Here, the existing building was Lancaster EMS and is now being converted to a local food pantry and clothing, distribution kind of facility. There's a complete alteration of the existing facility to facilitate program needs associated with the new use for the Loft."

Carerra explained that level one alterations are more moderate renovations, like painting for example. "Level two is doing a reconfiguration," he said. "The existing garage is going to be reconfigured to serve a new purpose as a main entry into the facility and it's the main entrance lobby, welcome area for people coming into the facility. The garage will also serve as a food storage area with refrigerated cooling and a walk-in freezer box for all of the food that is going to be coming into the facility."

The project is especially meaningful for CCS Building Group president Bill Koch Sr. "Our company focus is obviously being part of the community," he said. "Personally, my wife (Kelly) serves at the Loft community, and we're neighbors. We live a mile away. We are part of the community that the Loft supports."

LCP board president Tom Keller noted that the new home will help ensure the group's long-term viability. "We need a sustainable home. That is really the primary reason," he said. "We're helping so many people right now that we aren't just a pop-up food pantry anymore. We are in the community every single day, and we need a sustainable home to be able to sustain what we're doing. How we're currently operating is not sustainable, with operating out of Jefferson Hall or out of the churches in the past. It wasn't sustainable for the community or our volunteers, so this is going to really provide us long-term sustainability for the for the local community."

LCP executive director Jenna Graeff added, "We have experienced three moves as an organization, so we hope this is our fourth and final."

Keller concurs. "This will definitely be our final move," he said. "From here, we can really support the community with those smaller pop-up style food pantries. Having the resources to come in here and be able to distribute and be able to have our core team and core people in one spot, with offices, is really everything we need."

Graeff echoed Keller's sentiments. "This is a sustainability need for an organization that looks to be in this community for generations to come," she said. "We hope that what we do here supports the Penn Manor community and supports the Loft Community Partnership and all that we do and all of our partnerships for generations."