SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — The Bishop Dudley Hospitality House is sporting a new look. Volunteers from two local businesses applied a fresh coat of paint to the outside walls of the downtown homeless shelter. Friday’s makeover will benefit the guests of the Bishop Dudley House for years to come.

The early morning rain paused the prep work outside the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House.

“There’s a little more prep in here than we thought,” Norberg Paints owner Stuart Norberg said.

But once it dried out, the scraping and taping began.

“We’ve got paint that’s been peeling on here so we’re scraping off all the loose areas, everything that’s bubbling on there,” Norberg said.

Norberg Paints donated 25 gallons of paint. Select Painting provided the 10 volunteers to apply the paint onto three of the four outer walls.

“We’re not doing the whole building because the front has a whole different facade,” Norberg said.

Orange cones placed along the Franklin Avenue side of the building kept the foot traffic from getting close to the wet paint. The gray-beige is in keeping with color schemes of surrounding buildings in the neighborhood. But the paint job also boosts pride among Bishop Dudley guests.

“When things look better, generally, people take more pride in it. So that’s kind of what we’re hoping comes out of this,” Select Painting Senior Vice-President, Commercial Division Drew Dittmer said.

“We couldn’t be more grateful. This shows our guests that this is a beautiful place to stay. We want this to be a dignified place. We don’t want things to get run-down,” Bishop Dudley Hospitality House Executive Director Madeline Shields said.

This is the first fresh coat of paint since the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House first opened back in 2015. So this painting project is going to have to last.

“Just a latex house paint that’s being used on there. Nothing out of the ordinary. But it’s a top-end product, so it will last longer. Better color retention,” Norberg said.

Each pass of the sprayer adds a coat of kindness to a building long overdue for a fresh look.

A painting project like that can cost around $5,000. But since it’s all free, the Bishop Dudley House can channel that money into programs to help its guests.