Boy Scout council buys former Melaleuca building

The Grand Teton Council of the Boy Scouts of America announced they have purchased the former Melaleuca building on South Yellowstone Highway in Idaho Falls.

The Melaleuca Foundation donated $3.5 million dollars to the organization on July 4th. The money was used to purchase the building, Clark Farrer said in a news release.

Farrer said the building will be used to open a national BSA Scout Shop in the building. It will also include a Volunteer Support Center, executive and administrative offices, a Scouting museum, a boardroom and several conference rooms.

The building will replace their current building on 4th Street, Farrer said. The Melaleuca building is approximately four times the size of the current building, he said.

The release said other potential uses of the additional space will include a conference and training center, climbing wall, commercial office space, and affordable office space for other non-profit agencies.

The Grand Teton Council serves over 22-thousand youth in eastern Idaho, western Wyoming and southwest Montana.

Farrer said the new store will be ready to open this fall.

The council also has service centers in Pocatello, Blackfoot and Rexburg.