Norwich — The Norwich Salvation Army announced Friday that it is canceling efforts to renovate its fire-damaged building at 262 Main St. and instead will put the building up for sale.

The 1900 building was damaged in an accidental fire on Aug. 24, 2014, that started in a rear kitchen. While the fire was quickly contained by firefighters, heavy smoke damage occurred throughout the three-story building, forcing the Norwich Salvation Army to move to temporary quarters in various locations.

For the past few years, the nonprofit service and worship entity has rented the Gospel Foundation of New England Church at 169 Franklin St. and will remain in that location for the foreseeable future, Lt. Cheryl McCollum, commander of the Norwich Salvation Army, said.

“We want to be in the center of downtown,” McCollum said Friday. “Most of our clients and people we serve are here. Most of our clients don’t take the bus and don’t drive, so we want to be accessible. We’re just so thankful for all the organizations that housed us, stood by us and continued to support us. We really have some great organizations in Norwich.”

McCollum said recent bids for renovation of the Main Street building came in too high and could not be justified against the service needs of local clients. The cost to replace the heating and air conditioning systems “was out of the scope of what we could do,” McCollum said.

“It’s so sad about the building,” McCollum said Friday. “We were really working really hard. However, the bids came in really high, and we just couldn’t feasibly see putting that much money into the building.”

City tax records show that the Salvation Army acquired the 9,871-square-foot building in 1961, and it is appraised at $571,800.

The Norwich Salvation Army, which serves Norwich, Griswold and Preston, offers several programs at the Franklin Street location and is gearing up now for fall and holiday fund drives and food baskets for families in need, McCollum said.

Worship service is held at 10 a.m. on Sundays. A fall kids’ club will start next week at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and a women’s ministry is held at 6 p.m. Wednesdays. A teen program will be held twice a month, with the schedule pending. The food pantry is open Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Salvation Army also participates in the monthly community meal held at the Lee Memorial Church, 294 Washington St., Norwich.

For information about the Norwich Salvation Army, contact McCollum at (860) 889-2329 or by email at Cheryl.McCollum@use.salvationarmy.org.

c.bessette@theday.com