Why is east Charlotte Salvation Army building closed? Local leaders want answers
When the Salvation Army on Milton Road closed last summer, it left a vacuum in an east Charlotte corridor where resources are scarce and crime worries are high.
The facility hosted summer and after school programming in partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America before the two organizations severed ties at the start of 2025. Other groups have been trying to revive the space ever since with little clarity on what comes next or whether the Salvation Army will ever reopen.
The Salvation Army told The Charlotte Observer the closure is temporary — but that news hasn’t reached community members who’ve felt the loss.
“Boys would go straight to the gym over at the Boys and Girls Club, and they would hoop. ... That was a safe space for them where there were trusted adults,” said Greg Asciutto, executive director of the community development nonprofit CharlotteEAST. “When we couldn’t figure out exactly what the intended purpose of it was gonna be, we started making calls, and we couldn’t get on the phone with anybody.”
Asciutto made multiple attempts to connect with the Salvation Army. So did Ricky Singh, executive director of My Brother’s Keeper, a nonprofit founded by former President Barack Obama to address opportunity gaps for boys of color. State Rep. Jordan Lopez, a Democrat whose district covers parts of east Charlotte, gave it a try, too, to no avail.
“None of us that are reaching out are reaching out because we’re in a position to make profit from this facility,” Asciutto said. “We’re not in here trying to be vultures. We’re just trying to get our kids something to do to keep them off the street.”
Asciutto worried the Salvation Army was eyeing a sale of the property, which is zoned for neighborhood use and could conceivably be turned into high density housing.
The Salvation Army quickly shut down that theory in an interview with the Observer.
“We’re still fully committed to the neighborhood. The property’s not for sale or anything like that,” said Brent Rinehart, community relations and development director for the Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte. “(We paused) with the full intention that as soon as we were able to reestablish our local youth programs, we would be back in that neighborhood.”
Why did the Salvation Army on Milton Road close?
The longstanding partnership between the national Boys and Girls Club and the Salvation Army offices “sunsetted” last year, and both parties agreed to go their separate ways, Rinehart said.
That put the Salvation Army in a funding squeeze. Money that once passed through the Boys and Girls Club and its financial partners was gone. The Salvation Army decided to temporarily close one of the three buildings it owns around Charlotte while it got its finances in order, Rinehart said.
The plan has always been — and still is — to operate a full-fledged community center on Milton Road.
The Salvation Army intends to expand beyond youth programming to provide services for all ages, Rinehart said. He’d like to see a food pantry and workforce development programs at that location.
There’s also interest in partnering with other organizations for programming, Rinehart said. He welcomes conversations with neighborhood leaders to determine what’s most needed.
The Salvation Army does not have a timeline in place, but Rinehart said he expects the building will reopen to the community within the next year.
“The organization fully recognizes the needs in the community and is fully committed to being part of the solution in that neighborhood,” Rinehart said. “I know everybody else will be thankful to know (the facility) won’t be developed for another purpose.”
Salvation Army, nonprofit organizations want to partner
East Charlotte families still ask Singh if he knows what is happening with the closed facility “almost every time” he does a home visit with My Brother’s Keeper. He doesn’t.
Singh works with students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools who are chronically absent. He understands the impact a building like that has on the community, he said.
“When you remove a third space that’s geared towards youth engagement, no matter where you are in the world, you’re gonna have a negative ripple on our community,” Singh said. “It’s the same thing if you close the school or close the church. If you’re pulling away an anchor in a community and not replacing it or there isn’t transparency around it, it’s gonna lead to questions and confusion and feelings.”
Singh contacted the Salvation Army to offer no-cost programming in the space. Other partners were interested in helping out, too, but Singh said he never heard back.
The Salvation Army has had several meetings with community partners about the property, Rinehart said. He didn’t recall hearing from Singh, Lopez or Asciutto. He’s open to talking.
“It’s probably just miscommunication or reaching out to the wrong offices,” Rinehart said.
