The Hutton Settlement has received a $740,000 grant from Vancouver, -based nonprofit M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to help fund a remodel project at the 320-acre campus, at 9907 E. Wellesley, in Spokane Valley, where its administrative offices will be relocated.

Jill Lemke, program director for Murdock Trust, says the grant was an unusually large request that was awarded to the children’s home. She adds, however, that the award amount was necessary due to the high cost of the remodel and expansion work needed to complete construction on the campus.

Lemke says Hutton’s business model caught the interest of Murdock’s trustees and that the mission of the children’s home as a social service provider for families and children aligns closely with the trust’s mission as well.

“This was a real strategic grant for them that would allow them to expand services, consolidate the location of their administrative staff, and provide better facilities for their alumni,” she says.

Hutton Settlement’s executive director Chud Wendle says the campus is entering the third phase of the remodel.

Wendle says the first phase involved remodeling four cottages where the children live. The cottage remodel cost about $4 million total and was completed in April.

The second phase was designed to update the housing quarters for alumni and house parents. 

Phase three will include the relocation of the administrative staff from an office at 421 W. Riverside downtown to a newly constructed wing addition of the Hutton campus administration building. The estimated cost for phase three is $750,000.

“We will be adding about 1,500 square feet (on) two floors,” he says. “There will be three offices, and then a boardroom.”

“There’s a big savings we’ll be taking advantage of by moving the administration to the campus,” he says.

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