Historic Paterson Building Reimagined As Workforce And Community Hub

The smell of fresh-cut lumber lingers through the first-floor workshop of a century-old building overlooking Paterson’s Great Falls, where young adults train in electrical work, automotive repair, carpentry and other skilled trades.

But the workshop is only the beginning.

Floor by floor, the rest of the 40,000-square-foot building is being transformed into The Great Falls Center, where organizers envision bringing together education, dining, entrepreneurship and community gathering spaces.

Located at 39 McBride Avenue, the building once housed part of Paterson’s silk industry before later becoming home to industrial manufacturer Glenro Inc. Today, Servant’s Heart Ministry and Dawn Treader Christian School are working together to give the property a new purpose.

Through its Workmanship Program, Servant’s Heart Ministry is already using part of the building to help young adults explore careers in the skilled trades. At the same time, plans for the larger center include new spaces for residents to gather, dine and support local businesses.

Executive Director John Oostdyk said the goal is to expose students to different trades before they invest thousands of dollars in specialized education.

“We’re not the one-stop, all-stop education,” Oostdyk said. “I think there’s a lot more education that can happen, and we don’t do it all, but we get them started, which is what’s missing.”

The center is taking shape as many young people continue to face barriers to education and employment. Roughly 14.6% of Paterson-area youth ages 16 to 24 are neither working nor in school, according to Measure of America.

More Than a Workshop

Beyond the active workshop, each floor is being built with a different purpose.

Plans call for the first floor to include the Workmanship Program, a public food hall and commercial kitchen to support culinary training and local food entrepreneurs. The second floor will feature a 250-seat auditorium for performances, conferences and community events, along with educational space for Dawn Treader Christian School. The top floor will house a restaurant, event space and rooftop terrace overlooking the Great Falls.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2027, although parts of the building are already in use. The Workmanship Program is operating there, along with Meetspaces event rentals.

Herbert Van Denend’s Vision

The vision for the property dates back decades.

Herbert Van Denend founded Dawn Treader Christian School in Paterson in 1977, but his vision for the city extended beyond the classroom.

In the mid-1980s, Van Denend started a small woodworking program where young people learned carpentry and craftsmanship by building furniture, according to Pastor Charles Salinas, executive director of Dawn Treader.

“His goal was to equip them with practical skills that would enable them to support themselves and their families,” Salinas said.

The woodworking program was eventually discontinued as Dawn Treader focused on expanding Christian education, but Salinas said Van Denend hoped to return to the idea. He died in the late 1980s before seeing that vision fulfilled.

Decades later, Dawn Treader and Servant’s Heart Ministry are working together to revive what the organizations call the “Silk City Dream.”

Salinas said The Great Falls Center builds on Van Denend’s original idea while expanding it to include skilled trades, mentorship, performing arts and other workforce opportunities for young people.

“We hope The Great Falls Center becomes a place where lives are transformed through faith, education, mentorship, and practical job training,” Salinas said.

Building Opportunity, Not Just Careers

While the building reflects Paterson’s industrial past, Oostdyk said its future focuses on investing in the people who call the city their home.

“Paterson is a richly diverse community, and many of its residents could thrive with access to training and a genuine pathway to success.”

Founded as a volunteer construction ministry that grew out of Cornerstone Christian Church in Wyckoff, Servant’s Heart became a nonprofit in 2014 before launching its free Workmanship Program in 2019.

Exploring the Trades

The Workmanship Program introduces young adults to careers in the skilled trades through free, hands-on instruction taught by volunteer industry professionals. What began with 16 students has expanded into programs in Paterson, Haledon and Franklin.

This fall, Paterson will offer Critical Path Method (CPM), welding, automotive and woodworking. Haledon will offer tile training, while Franklin will offer CPM and woodworking. Welding is expected to be added in Franklin in January, with automotive planned later, according to Tanya Dennis, marketing manager for Servant’s Heart.

More than 300 people applied for the fall semester, with 95 students accepted. The program has graduated 386 students since launching in 2019, Dennis said. About 35% of its graduates are from Paterson, while 52% of students come from under-resourced communities.

Students receive hands-on experience in different areas of the trades before choosing which direction they may want to pursue.

“They may think they want to go into welding, but they get in here, and they realize sparks freak me out,” Oostdyk said. “… Maybe automotive’s for you. Maybe construction’s for you.”

Depending on the course, students might build a small structure while learning the order and fundamentals of residential construction, practice welding techniques, learn woodworking through drafting and cabinetry, or gain experience with engines, brakes and other automotive systems.

“One of the objectives of our program is exposing young adults to all of the construction industry,” Oostdyk said. “Really helping them understand maybe a better career path of what they want to do.”

Classes meet Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. CPM, welding and automotive run for 15 weeks, while woodworking and tile run for 12 weeks. Class sizes vary, with CPM serving 27 students and tile, the smallest program, accommodating eight. Age requirements vary by course. Students as young as 16 can enroll in woodworking, while the other courses are open to adults 18 and older or 17-year-olds who are high school seniors.

The program provides introductory training and mentorship intended to help students take the next step toward an apprenticeship or entry-level position. Dennis said instructors and industry partners sometimes hire students directly or refer graduates to opportunities within their professional networks.

Graduates also retain access to a private online network where they can connect with staff and instructors, find volunteer opportunities and access job listings vetted by the organization.

From the Classroom to a New Career

For Arie McCray, the program became a path out of work he felt offered little room for advancement.

In 2024, he worked at a company where his responsibilities increased without similar or proportional pay increase.

“I have been working warehouse jobs for 10 years, and not much has changed for me, so I wanted to learn a skill/trade,” McCray said. 

His mother learned about Servant’s Heart through church and told him about the program. McCray enrolled in the CPM course at the Paterson location and graduated in spring 2025.

The course introduced him to the basics of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). About two months after graduating, McCray was hired by Reiner, an HVAC company, where he now works as a warehouse associate and boom truck operator.

“The program helped prepare me for my career by teaching me the basics of HVAC,” McCray said. “I work for an HVAC company now, so learning what I learned in Servants Heart gave me a bit of knowledge before working for an HVAC company, so I wasn’t completely clueless about what everything was.”

For McCray, the biggest change has been seeing more possibilities for his career.

“At jobs I would work hard, but I always felt the ceiling to improve was low,” he said. “After Servants Heart and working with a trade company like Reiner, it feels like the sky’s the limit.”

Teaching More than Technical Skills

Many students enter the program with little or no construction experience. Oostdyk estimated that nearly 70% of participants can’t read a tape measure when they first arrive, something he attributes to the decline of vocational education in many schools.

But he said teaching someone how to use a saw or weld metal is only part of the program.

“Getting a job is more than just having skills,” Oostdyk said. “It’s the core values behind us. It’s a mix of personality… being able to show up and perform and work has a lot more to do with just having construction skills.”

Every class begins with a discussion centered on one of the program’s seven core values: honesty, trust, timeliness, craftsmanship, teachability, respect and integrity. Students then transition into hands-on instruction, where those values are reinforced alongside technical skills.

Those lessons are largely taught by people who have already spent a full day working in the trades.

More than 60 volunteer instructors support the Workmanship Program, handling much of the class preparation, teaching, hands-on training and mentorship. They also help develop curriculum and make industry connections for students and graduates.

“I think what’s special… is the volunteerism,” Oostdyk said. “When you know somebody’s willing to volunteer their time to come and teach you how to hold a saw or how to turn a wrench… that changes your own DNA.”

McCray said that commitment was one of the things that stayed with him after graduating.

“The volunteers who would go work a full day doing their trades then coming to teach a class at night… is something I will not take for granted,” McCray said.

Reaching Students Earlier

Servant’s Heart also introduces younger students to the trades through programs designed specifically for children and teenagers.

Camp Craftsman, offered twice this summer, is a weeklong program for children ages 10 to 14 that introduces them to carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, and HVAC through hands-on activities.

Girl Shop Talk combines woodworking with Bible study for girls ages 13 to 16 and meets weekly for eight weeks.

The organization also works with juniors and seniors from Paterson’s John F. Kennedy High School. About 25 students participate each semester in six electrical and plumbing classes over three weeks.

“These classes give young men and women some hands-on experience and a glimpse of what’s possible with a trades career,” Dennis said in an email.

She said the classes also provide students with next steps if they decide to pursue additional trades training.

Servant’s Heart also offers four-hour youth workshops for schools and community organizations that include a tour of The Great Falls Center, information about trade careers, and a hands-on activity.

Rooted in Service

Before leading Servant’s Heart full time, Oostdyk spent 13 years as a youth pastor at Cornerstone Christian Church, where the organization traces its roots. He said working with thousands of young people and decades in construction shaped how he approaches workforce development.

Although Servant’s Heart is a Christian nonprofit, Oostdyk said its programs are open to everyone, regardless of faith.

“I wouldn’t consider us a religious program,” he said. “I consider myself a religious person.”

Rather than preaching, Oostdyk said he hopes students see the organization’s values reflected in the volunteers who mentor them.

For Dawn Treader, faith is also central to its vision for the center. Salinas said the school hopes that The Great Falls Center will combine practical opportunities with its Christian mission.

“We desire to prepare the next generation to become servant leaders who will strengthen their families, contribute to their communities, and ultimately bring glory to God,” Salinas said.

Looking Toward the Future

For Oostdyk, the project’s success won’t be measured only by how many students graduate or how many rooms are renovated.

Instead, he envisions hundreds of people filling the building each week, from students learning new skills and entrepreneurs launching businesses to families gathering for performances and visitors discovering a different side of Paterson.

“We want people to come to Paterson, eat in Paterson, shop in Paterson, appreciate Paterson,” Oostdyk said. “Not just read about it… but see it as something viable and cool, and something exciting is happening.”