Lt. Elizabeth Nicoll said Tuesday morning that although the building they have rented for several years was being sold at auction, the Salvation Army has plans to find a new location in Houlton. The store will remain open at its current location on Water Street until Sept. 30.
“We found out less than a month ago that our current landlord was being foreclosed and the property was going to be auctioned,” Nicoll said. “We really don’t know what is going to happen to this building, so we are actively searching for a new building.”
Nicoll, who serves as the leader of the Houlton branch of the Salvation Army with her husband Dominic, said the Salvation Army had actually been searching for a new location for its popular Thrift Store for some time, due to the deteriorating condition of the Water Street property. For the past few weeks, a store-wide sale has been going on to help reduce inventory to make it easier to move to a new site.
Because donations were also no longer being accepted, it led many to believe that the Thrift Store was simply closing, which isn’t true, Nicoll said. She added the Salvation Army has been looking to purchase a piece of property for almost a year, but have not found the right building to meet their needs.
“We will have to close temporarily, but it’s not permanent,” she said. “We will be there definitely through the end of September.”
