An art gallery, restaurant and frame shop didn't succeed in the 1100 block of Northampton Street in Easton.

But it's the kind of location the city's Salvation Army chapter has been searching for since 1965, Salvation Army Capt. Isaiah Allen told the city Zoning Hearing Board on Monday.

The board granted the Salvation Army a special exception to provide social services, such as after-school tutoring, out of the building at 1110 Northampton St. No approvals were needed to hold church services because chapels are allowed in the West Ward neighborhood.

"It's right in the center of the population we are already serving," Allen testified. "It's on the right side of the street. It's got the right amount of space. [It's] the proper place for the facility."

The city's West Ward is considered the poorest and most in need of social service programs, which is why the Boys & Girls Club earlier this month sought and received permission to open a teen center at 1101 Northampton St.

Three city- and state-sponsored programs also are being operated in the West Ward to target crime, blight and other social ills.

Gary Bertsch, West Ward Neighborhood Partnership Program coordinator, told the zoning board the Salvation Army's services are needed.

"We welcome the opportunity for the Salvation Army to become part of the revitalization effort," Bertsch said. "It fits well into the plan to give some assistance and guidance to the young."

With the approval, Allen said, the Salvation Army will proceed with the sale of its downtown building at 214 Spring Garden St. and the purchase of the Northampton Street building, previously used by MCS Industries as an arts resource center.

Allen doesn't expect the move to take place until next year or possibly January 2008, however, because renovations will be necessary.

MCS, one of the largest picture frame makers in the world, opened an art gallery, frame shop and restaurant, Cafe Aaron, in the old manufacturing warehouse building in 2000. It closed in July 2004.

MCS owner Richard Master remains a principal in the company that owns the building, RLM Realty I.

Attorney Daniel Cohen, who represents RLM, said the purchase price is less than the amount MCS spent on renovations. Although he would not reveal the sales price, he said it had been reduced four times in the last 18 months before finally attracting the Salvation Army.

Allen and Salvation Army lawyer Joel Ziev also would not disclose the purchase price.

Northampton County property records show RLM Realty purchased the 25,000-square-foot warehouse in 1998 for $185,000, and the county appraised it at $334,400. The Salvation Army's Spring Garden Street property, a three-story mansion built around 1900, is appraised at $375,800.

The Salvation Army has been on Spring Garden Street since 1959, but Allen said it quickly outgrew the space. He said a search for a location in the West Ward began in earnest about 10 years ago.