YOUNGSTOWN — The Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley has set a Nov. 12 ceremony and open house for its new 50,000-square-foot facility at 1300 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

There will be a 2 p.m. outdoor ribbon-cutting event, and then a community open house from 2:30 to 6 p.m.

The construction project, across from the Youngstown City Schools bus garage, has progressed steadily since dirt began to move in late 2019 on a hillside overlooking the industrial Youngstown North Side Mahoning River valley.

Inside are three entrances and vestibules, a 90-seat chapel, separate sides of the facility for men and women-and-family, bathrooms, dayrooms, a 90-seat dining room, play rooms, laundry, kitchen, food storage, sleeping areas, fenced-in outdoor areas, first-floor offices, a second-floor office and future expansion space.

In the kitchen, tilt skillets and combination ovens will play a big role in feeding the people staying there or coming only for meals.

A feature unique to the $7.5 million project is the creation of Bible-sized spaces in seven places on the floor throughout the building that will each encase a Bible open to a specific passage of scripture.

For decades, the Mission’s resident building has been at 962 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. It offers free meals three times daily and overnight shelter to men, women and children in need.