Kids Making It, a Wilmington nonprofit organization that owns a facility on Castle Street, is proposing a two-story addition for a new skilled trades program and offices.

The 501(c)3 organization teaches woodworking, life and entrepreneurial skills to at-risk children ages 8 and older and young adults. Among Kids Making It offerings, younger children can participate in introductory woodworking classes while teens ages 13 and older can join the after-school program.

Kids Making It bought a nearly 5,000-square-foot building at 617 Castle St. in June 2014 and moved there from its Water Street location later that year.

The organization recently submitted site plans to the city of Wilmington for the proposed addition, which would be built on a vacant lot next door to 617 Castle St. that Kids Making It also owns.

"We’re starting a new program to teach the skilled trades -- introduction to electrical and plumbing and HVAC and construction carpentry, masonry -- that type of thing to our older teenagers as an entry way into the workforce," said Jimmy Pierce, executive director of Kids Making It. 

The program could be particularly helpful for Kids Making It participants who don't plan to go to college, Pierce said.

"We try to design all of our programs to help connect work to income and so this is just another one that we feel can open pathways to meaningful employment for a lifetime," Pierce said.

The organization has been raising money for the addition and is accepting donations. Kids Making It serves more than 500 children and teens through its programs, Pierce said.

The plans for the additional building are expected to be heard at the June 22 meeting of the city's Technical Review Committee, according to the city's project tracking website.