A Minneapolis community pillar is celebrating 93 years in service by opening the first Northside Community Safety Resource Center inside of the building.

Shiloh Temple is kicking off another anniversary with a new chapter.

The funding, designing and execution of this project came together in a year, which is a quick turnaround, project managers explained.

Building the foundation for north Minneapolis’ future has been Shiloh Temple’s mission for decades.

“Providing the right services, love, joy, peace, goodness, gentleness and so forth. That is what we’re here for,” Bishop Richard Howell at Shiloh Temple said.

With this $2 million makeover, the community is getting new tools to thrive.

Construction workers installed brand new doors, freshly painted walls and bulletproof windows. It’s a special request acknowledging a disturbing reality.

“Funerals, violence in this community. I felt like, ‘What do we do? What can we do to bring peace in our neighborhoods?’” Howell said.

Northside residents will have access to their first community safety resource center and an expanded food shelf that serves at least 400 people per day.

“Minneapolis is resource-rich and always have been access-poor, right? We know Minnesota has resources, but where do people of color access them?” said Pastor Jalilia Abdul-Brown from nonprofit Change Starts with Community.

Change Starts with Community wanted to make the process easy.

In the space, wrap-around resources will address food insecurity, violence prevention and youth development in one room.

“We’re in a community that has seen the most violence, but also a lack of resources and a lack of investment,” Abdul-Brown said.

The state, Hennepin County and a group of donors wanted to stop that cycle by donating time and money to see the project come to life.

PCL Construction, Leo A Daly and 4 The Hungry Project Management and Consulting are among many donors who believed in the vision.

“Knowing that we can contribute to helping them get access to the services that Shiloh Cares Food Shelf provides, I think that’s incredible, just to be a small part of it,” Amanda Kelsey, PCL construction, said.

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house is Sunday, Oct. 6, at 10 a.m. at Shiloh Temple.

Church officials will be joined by local and state leaders and lawmakers to debut the space to the community. The public is welcome to attend.

“Vibrancy is returning because we’re understanding the power that we have in this community,” Howell said.