Salvation Army Buffalo's three-year, $12 million capital campaign is moving right along.

The Hope on Main project has raised $3 million so far, topping its fundraising goal in the first part of the three-phase project.  

Phase 1 will see Salvation Army's emergency family shelter on Main Street be completely rebuilt. Phases 2 and 3 of the project, slated to be completed in 2027, will see the construction of an affordable housing complex, a community center and a church right in the heart of downtown Buffalo.

"When wages are here and mortgages, rents and borrowing are here, more and more people are not going to be able to afford the places in which they live,” said Buffalo Council Member Mitch Nowakowski. “You do deserve to have an affordable clean and beautiful place on Main and Allen. You do deserve to be able to walk downtown Buffalo and be able to live here and contribute. As we see the multiple phases of this project, I know that everyone is going to continue to be amazed." 

All phases of the Hope on Main project are estimated to cost $100 million.

Officials say New York state, Erie County and the City of Buffalo are pitching in funds as well to bring the project across the finish line.