Hamra donation helps pave way for new Kitchen campus

A donation from Sam and June Hamra is helping The Kitchen Inc. build a new campus and relocate from Commercial Street.

Kitchen CEO Rorie Orgeron said the nonprofit closed on the purchase of land near Glenstone Avenue and Chestnut Expressway in mid-September for $700,000 from Ozarks Charitable Real Estate Foundation LLC, an entity operated by Community Foundation of the Ozarks. An undisclosed donation from the Hamras and gifts from a couple others gave The Kitchen the financial means necessary to buy the land, Orgeron said. The tract is north and east of Panda Express, 720 N. Glenstone Ave., and Auto By Rent, 1835 E. Chestnut Expressway.

“It’s very gratifying,” Orgeron said. “It’ll be exciting once we get the ground broke over there.”

The Kitchen’s budget for the new campus is $4 million, of which 55 percent has been raised. Orgeron said the organization currently is soliciting private donations and would begin asking the public for help next year to target a fall groundbreaking. Ireland Architects Inc. is the project architect, and a general contractor has not been selected.

“Depending on how it goes, it could be earlier than that,” Orgeron said.

Officials plan a 12-15-month buildout for the campus that includes two buildings, a 20,000-square-foot office for executive staff, human resources, accounting and development employees, and a 6,000-7,000-square-foot emergency shelter comprising 50 beds.

The new construction would replace The Kitchen’s seven aging buildings on C-Street and Jefferson Avenue. Orgeron said the nonprofit would seek to sell those buildings.