The nonprofit organization that puts on Detroit's annual fireworks and Thanksgiving Day parade is stepping up its $45 million fundraising effort for a new headquarters ahead of a late September deadline to close on the sale of the property.

The Parade Co. announced Wednesday a new slogan for the fundraising campaign — ”Be a Heart of History" — and said it is currently at about 23% of the fundraising goal.

The organization wants to buy the vacant 93-year-old R. Thornton Brodhead Naval Armory, 7600 E. Jefferson Ave. near the bridge to Belle Isle, and transform the structure into its new headquarters and parade float storage.

The project would rehab the front of the armory while razing the back and replacing it with a 130,300-square-foot building expansion. The total size would be just under 161,000 square feet.

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Detroit officials in April gave The Parade Co. a time extension to a 2021 deal to buy the city-owned property for $300,000. The extension to Sept. 30 was needed after earlier fundraising challenges.

Parade Co. President and CEO Tony Michaels said he would like to begin construction next year and have a 2026 grand opening.

“The scale and heart of this project is for the Detroit community and families,” Michaels said.

“Our goal is to become a destination along the Detroit Riverfront near Belle Isle for residents and visitors offering spectacular tours, hosting thousands of children at youth camps, arts programs and educational opportunities, while showcasing our amazing collections of iconic parade floats, Italian papier maché heads and watching our teams of artisans at work."

The armory opened in 1930 and was once a training facility for sailors and Marines and the site of boxer Joe Louis' first amateur fight. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and features interior murals and carvings created during the Great Depression that The Parade Co. intends to preserve.

Those wishing to donate to the Be a Heart of History campaign can visit theparade.org.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The Parade Co. steps up $45M fundraising effort as deadline nears