The Jefferson City Goodwill thrift store is looking to build a new location near the Stoneridge Village commercial development.
Pending re-zoning approval, Goodwill would relocate its current 1806 Missouri Blvd. store to a newly constructed, 15,000-square-foot facility on South Ten Mile Drive next door to Arby's.
"We've been building new stores, and our customers and donors have really appreciated and liked it, so it gives us an opportunity to move to Jeff City's new area for shopping, right in there with Walmart, Sam's (Club) and Kohl's and others," said Dave Kutchback, CEO over Goodwill stores in Jefferson City and elsewhere in Missouri. "It also will become a much easier experience for people to drop off their donations. It's going to be a larger store."
Kutchback noted parking had become somewhat difficult at the existing location, another benefit of relocating.
The new Goodwill would be constructed where two houses currently stand, at 2821 and 2827 S. Ten Mile Drive, as well as a 0.3-acre tract behind them. Missouri Goodwill Industries is under contract with property owner Land Investments LLC - which is run by Bud Farmer, Mike Farmer and Frank Twehous - to purchase the houses, pending the Jefferson City Council's final approval of a zoning change.
The property the houses stand on currently is zoned as RD Medium Density Residential and C-O Office Commercial, and the Goodwill store requires a C-1 Neighborhood Commercial zoning.
The Jefferson City Planning and Zoning Commission approved the change March 10, and the City Council has heard its first reading. Kutchback expects the second reading and potential final approval at the April 4 City Council meeting.
During the Planning and Zoning meeting, a nearby resident voiced concerns about potential added traffic. City Engineer David Bange said at the meeting that a traffic study was completed two months before that did not determine additional traffic as an issue.
Kutchback said he was unsure at this time of whether the new store would create additional employment opportunities, but that he does expect it to create growth in a number of ways.
"We expect much greater sales, and it gives us docks so that we can have even more merchandise move through the Jefferson City store," he said. "I would anticipate that we would see a significant growth in the revenues that would be there, which then allows us monies to be put into our career services, employment services for people with disabilities and other disadvantages."
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