The Salvation Army Thrift Store in Lawrence is looking for a new home, now that a video-rental chain is in line to buy its building.

The thrift store, 1818 Mass., could be out as early as July 1. That’s when contractors for Glenview, Ill.-based Family Video are hoping to start work on a remodeling job that could cost up to $750,000, put 16,000 movies on the shelves and leave the city with one fewer thrift store option.

“We’re looking to find someplace else in Lawrence, but I don’t have anything yet,” said Capt. Peggy Hudgens, of the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center in Kansas City, Mo., which runs the thrift store. “We’re not real happy about it, but we’re trusting the Lord that he’ll open up something.”

The Salvation Army has been operating on a month-to-month lease for years, and officials have been looking for a new Lawrence location for the past five years, Hudgens said. The search has become more active since Family Video signed a contract to buy the building, a turn-of-the-century former streetcar garage with nearly 14,000 square feet of space.

The sale is expected to close in mid- to late June, pending city approval of a site plan and other regulatory matters.

“Our location — that potential location — makes it extremely attractive,” said Roger Rubright, a Lawrence resident who is regional manager for Family Video’s nine stores in Kansas and western Missouri. “With the demographics of where we think we can pull from, I think we can do some great things.”

The proposed project calls for removing the front of the building to accommodate a new and enlarged parking lot, leaving about 9,000 square feet for the chain’s lineup of rental movies and another 800 free titles, including educational, kids’ and self-help titles.

Construction would be expected to last four months.

“When we get done, the only thing that will be standing will be the shell,” said Gary Hickenbottom, project superintendent for Rockford Construction of Grand Rapids, Mich., the project’s general contractor.

The Salvation Army Thrift Store, 1818 Mass., is seeking a new location because Family Video, a video rental chain, has signed a contract to buy the building. The chain hopes to begin construction by July 1.

Lori Rice, who stopped by the Salvation Army store Monday to pick up a cherry chest of drawers for $99 and an oak bookcase for $40, fears the thrift store’s exit will be permanent, and that others could soon follow.

A Disabled American Veterans store on 23rd Street closed a year ago, when operators blamed the demise on rising competition from used-clothing shops downtown. Lawrence’s Goodwill store had been in limbo until earlier this year, when it secured a 10-year lease for its building near 31st and Iowa streets.

Rice, who makes a habit of shopping for clothes, furniture and other items at the Salvation Army store, winces at the thought of the Salvation Army being left with nowhere to operate.

“I feel good when I can buy things and contribute things that can help people,” said Rice, who lives in Lawrence and works in Topeka. “Who’s going to take that money and serve the needy?”

Proceeds from the Lawrence store help finance the Salvation Army’s rehabilitation center in Kansas City, Mo., where men live as they work to overcome drug and alcohol abuse. The store is one of 10 in Kansas and Missouri that finance the center’s operation.

If a suitable 10,000-square-foot building cannot be located in Lawrence, Hudgens said, the organization simply will need to find another location in another town to do business.