In a move designed to make the best use of limited resources, Penn House will be consolidated into the North Lawrence home of the Ballard Center, said Becky Price, executive director of the two longtime Lawrence nonprofits.

At a 2005 request of the Douglas County United Way, the Ballard Center took administrative control of Penn House, Price said. However, the Ballard Center continued to operate an early-childhood education center, a community food pantry and other low-income assistance programs in its old school building at 708 Elm St., while the Penn House offered a community clothes closet, employment counseling and emergency utility assistance at its 1035 Pennsylvania St. site.

Price said moving Penn House operations would allow for a more efficient overall operation and that no Penn House services would be discontinued.

“Financially, this is going to be huge for us,” she said. “Everything will be in one building, so we won’t be paying two electrical bills and two water bills and maintenance on two old buildings.”

The move won’t happen for at least two months, but preparations are underway, Price said. The Ballard Center’s food pantry has been relocated to the basement of the center. The Penn House clothes closet also will be moved to the center’s basement, which will make for a one-stop shop for people needing food and clothes.

Ballard Center has purchased a prefabricated building to be installed at its North Lawrence site, which will serve as an intake building for the pantry and closet.

“We’ve made a lot of progress,” Price said. “It’s just a matter of putting all the puzzle pieces together and getting all the needed city permits.”

No employees will be laid off with the move, although the duties of some staff members will be changed for greater organizational efficiency, Price said.

Community volunteers built Penn House over a weekend in February 1969, Price said. The plan now is to sell the Penn House building and grounds, which occupy two lots, in the coming months.

“There’s a lot of interest in East Lawrence,” she said. “I’ve already had six people approach me about the property.”

The agencies researched the residential origins of Penn House clients and found that few were from East Lawrence, Price said.

“There wasn’t even a cluster of our clients in East Lawrence,” she said. “For a lot of our clients, the move will be much easier for them. A lot of our clients live in North Lawrence. We’re going to be able to offer more and provide services that make our clients more self-sufficient.”