Salvation Army Breaks Ground on Rady Center
A $50 million gift from Ernest and Evelyn Rady funds a new San Diego headquarters that will be renamed The Rady Center.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Philanthropy
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The Salvation Army broke ground on a new San Diego headquarters after demolishing the old building. The project is funded by a $50 million donation from Ernest and Evelyn Rady and will be renamed The Rady Center.
Why it matters
The new 200,000-square-foot facility will expand temporary housing for more than 100 additional people and offer food, medicine, job training, and spiritual guidance to San Diego residents.
The $50 million gift from Ernest and Evelyn Rady anchors the project, which will span 200,000 square feet and add temporary housing for more than 100 people. The extraction does not state the total construction budget beyond this donation.
The players
The Salvation Army
A Christian charitable organization known for social services, disaster relief, and homeless assistance programs across the United States and worldwide.
Ernest Rady
A San Diego philanthropist whose donation with his wife Evelyn funds the new headquarters.
Evelyn Rady
A San Diego philanthropist who, with her husband Ernest, provided the $50 million donation for the new headquarters.
The details
The old San Diego headquarters has been demolished and the site scraped clean before construction began, with the $50 million donation already in hand at the groundbreaking. The new facility is projected for completion in 2028 and will provide food, medicine, job training, and spiritual guidance alongside housing.
Timeline
The old headquarters served San Diego residents for more than half a century before its demolition.
Ground was broken for the new headquarters on November 10, 2026.
The Rady Center is projected to be completed in 2028.
Philanthropy Pattern
The $50 million Rady gift follows a pattern of named private donations underwriting large San Diego social-service facilities, with the building carrying the donors' name as The Rady Center. Its scale places it among the larger single donations to a local human-services project in recent years.
San Diego residents who rely on Salvation Army services will eventually have access to expanded temporary housing and programs at the new facility. The project will not change service availability until construction is finished in 2028.
The takeaway
Large private gifts can accelerate the replacement of aging community infrastructure, but services remain unchanged until construction is complete. Residents seeking Salvation Army help should continue using current programs until The Rady Center opens.
What happens next
The new headquarters is projected for completion in 2028, when the facility is expected to open as The Rady Center.
Further reading
For more on local giving, see the San Diego Philanthropy coverage.
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