Goodwill Industries has selected the location for its new retail store and training center.
The organization plans to purchase the Village West Shopping Center at Furys Ferry and Washington roads for its Goodwill Career Campus, said Jim Stiff, the president of Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA. He expects the deal to close on Sept. 2.
Mr. Stiff acknowledged the undertaking is Project Richmond 2, the name given to a project at the June meeting of the Development Authority of Richmond County, which approved a $22.5 million bond financing inducement resolution. The secret name allowed paperwork for the bonds to be drafted while the real estate deal was still in negotiations.
The campus will be built in two phases. The first involves a new Goodwill retail store with a donation drive-through, a second Goodwill Job Connection location for the Augusta area and a Good Books Cafe -- a 3,000-square-foot space that will sell 15,000 new and used books, along with coffees, pastries and sandwiches.
The second phase is a training center that will be completed during the next three to five years, Mr. Stiff said.
"This piece of property really seems ideal. It's at the corner of two things that are very important for our project: The first thing is that we had to be on a bus line for the people that we serve ... that don't have their own transportation," Mr. Stiff said.
"The second thing is that we needed to be where individuals with higher disposable income would come to donate, shop and participate in our future campus businesses that we're going to create."
Goodwill Industries' new retail store, designed to be a training store, replaces the location that closed on Wylds Road in February. The store will be "by far the most attractive store in the state of Georgia," he said.
"We'll be doing hiring. We're looking for at least 40 full-time equivalent positions," Mr. Stiff said.
It should open before Christmas but will cause four businesses to relocate.
"It involves four tenants at Village West that have already been given notice by the current landlord. All of those individuals have been offered alternative space by the landlord at one of his other shopping centers," he said
Goodwill Industries will occupy 35,000 square feet of the 85,000-square-foot shopping center, from Elegant Bridals to The Antique Market. The training center would likely be an expansion, Mr. Stiff said.
On Monday, Elegant Bridals and The Antique Market had store relocating signs posted.
Another store affected by the project, Georgia-Lina Billiards, plans to close its doors rather than relocate, said manager Tammy Teel. Sales have been down, and rent at the new location would be more expensive. The store's last day is Friday.
"I'll be looking for a new job next week," Ms. Teel said.
The fourth business affected is Coco's Cabana.
The training center originally had been proposed for the Golf Hall of Fame property on Reynolds Street. They also considered property on Wheeler and Pleasant Home roads, according to Mr. Stiff.
In addition to bond financing, the organization is working on other sources of funding, Mr. Stiff said. The bond financing could be finalized by the development authority's August meeting.
"They came in knowing what they wanted to do and the type of services they wanted to offer the community. We got as excited as they did," said Walter Sprouse, the executive director of the development authority.
With the region's high unemployment rate, the new facility "will take some of the pressure off" the Job Connection office on Peach Orchard Road, Mr. Stiff said. At Village West, he said he expects to place 500 people into jobs and assist 2,100 people with intensive career development services.
Reach LaTina Emerson at (706) 823-3227 or latina.emerson@augustachronicle.com.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
I don't understand how they can place 500 in jobs. Someone explain that to me.
Oh, boy! I'm really looking forward to have this area start resembling South Augusta even more than it already does. This will be just the ticket for encouraging groups of people who don't live in this area to roam through heretofore stable neighborhoods. This REALLY ISN'T the part of town that needs access to this project, so why are they sticking it out here? Even bus transportation stinks. No wonder they kept this project under wraps until it was virtually a done deal. They didn't want to have to deal with the objections of the neighbors, and I sincerely hope there are going to be plenty of them objecting. Really slick move by the badly misnamed Richmond County 'Development' Authority. As if property values hadn't dropped enough.
I am familiar with their location in Macon, and it is very, very nice. It looks like they will have the same type of facilities here...restaurant, bookstore, classrooms for training. If it is anything like their facility in Macon, it will be a plus.
fiat lux = elitist snob
Glad to have another place to search for records.
I hope the Fury's Ferry location is a more sensible fit for the community than Golf and Gardens would have been. Imagine dedicating riverfront property to a secondhand store - who was smoking pot on that idea? Good to hear from localjay that it may not be a drag on the area.
Not an elitist snob, Graci. I live in a very diverse neighborhood, by race and generational make-up. I'm just very concerned about having people who WILL cut through here sizing up me and my neightbors as potential targets for criminal activity. I want my kids to remain safe as they ride their bikes to the playground and pool. I pay for upkeep of these facilities and I don't want them treated the way Diamond Lakes community center was treated. At the very least, this new project site will bring loud, pounding music and a huge increase in traffic to/through neighborhoods that up to now have gone unnoticed by Augusta area have-nots. All it takes is seeing one murder happen in front of your young children to decide it's better not to share the same zipcode with certain people. It's not snobbery or elitism to want peace and safety in my own neighborhood, and to be willling to pay for it. And why didn't Goodwill Industries buy and upgrade one of the schools being sold off by the RCBOE? THAT would have made sense.
No, Fiat Lux, I really hate to tell you but....you really are an elitist snob. Your kids could not be safe with or without the Goodwill store.
OK, you apparently don't qualify as an elitist. How about ignorant bigot?
Obviously Fiat Lux has no idea what Goodwill will do with this facility. The current appearance of the shopping center is dated and an eyesore on Fury's Ferry. Goodwill has an outstanding histroy of improving their locations and offering goods and services for all people not just the ones described in Fiat Lux's rant. I have also toured the Macon facility and seen firsthand the type of economic development they bring to a community. The Macon facility also includes one of the best restaurants in town operated by folks trained on site. Goodwill...welcome to our part of town.
fiat lux sounds like a racist good ol boy. You should relocate to another country because whether you like it or not America is a nation of all races and if you only want to live around ignorant individuals as yourself then you should move somewhere that tolerates such ignorance. Death to all racist bigots and life to the new AMERICA the CHANGE we NEED.
All I can say is, "We shall see." If I am wrong about this, it will be as clear as day to me and I will own up to it. If not, what are you going to do? Condemn the decay? Ask for speed bumps and gates? Oh, yeah. Sure you will. And Get Real and Graci, you both can kiss my Aunt Fannie's grits. You bleeding heart bozos think anyone with standards for reasonable public behavior is elitist. You need to look at your anti-hero Obama if you wnat to put that label on somebody. There are few better examples of what one looks like than the big O. I can hardly wait to hear you singing about his 'healthcare' plan.
So having standards for what is safe and appropriate behavior in my own neighborhood makes me not only an elitist snob but a racist who deserves death? And this directed at someone who CHOOSES to live with neighbors of many different races? T4C, you obviously don't understand what you read, so I don't know if you have enough wit to realize it, but you just made a terroristic death threat against me. I actually don't have to tolerate that, even done anonymously. I'm about to call the Chronicle and pursue legal action. You might want to consider deleting your 3:21 comment PDQ.
Once again, leave Obama out of this. All it does is show your ignorance. He has nothing to do with this Goodwill coming to your area discussion. All you can do is start talking about OUR president, Mr. Obama. You need to show some respect.
Sorry you are offended, Get_Real, but, uhm, you really should get real, you who were so respectful of George Bush. I respect the office and would never treat him rudely because of that, and simply out of what used to be called common courtesy. But I have no repect for his ability nor for his goals. We do not share the same values, and I strongly believe he will lead our nation into disaster. Nevertheless, I'm not really talking so much about Obama in this forum as about Sjgraci and yourself, who appear to worship him without hinderance from either your rational faculties or simple observation. You appear to react my position on the Goodwill center in a similar knee-jerk fashion.
Lets clear up one thing, I worship no one but God, ok? My point is, he is president now so why can't you get over it? You can't change it! You have to deal with it for at least four more years, whether you agree or not! Who cares?
I can't get 'over it' because he's pushing destructive policy like a thug with a cudgel. And, despite what you say, he can be stopped if Americans start paying attention to what's getting ready to happen to their lives and futures, and start making their objections known to their legislators. It's the only hope we have unless everyone is just fine with the US being just like a European socialist country, where even simple things in your life are an expensive, time-consuming struggle with bureaucracy, politics, payoffs and rationing. All this is far afield from the proposed Goodwill center, so I will leave off discussing it anymore.
I am looking forward to it opening. Will be good for the economy and the area in general...
I am looking forward to having it come there also. Can't wait. Goodwill has some good, inexpensive things to buy and I donate to goodwill all the time. One persons junk is another persons treasure. Also excited about the jobs that are going to be available. Maybe I can get one of them since I am unemployed and can't seem to find a job anywhere else and I am very well qualified, but any job is better than no job. If you don't like goodwill then don't go there. Continue to go to the Mall and spend all your money..
I have a problem with all the secrecy surrounding this project. I'm planning to call Jerry Brigham in the morning and find out why he did nothing to inform his voters. He didn't want apartments in his backyard and made that known very loudly, but said nothing about this. Way to go Jerry!
tealeaf, what are you so scared of? This is something done privately and non-governmental that could help this area. I guess you think every private business venture should be run by you becase you have a voter registration card? They have a right to be there, just like you do. There is nothing to get to the bottom of this. Jerry is wrong about the apartments too. They obviously had to get a zoning change, which would have made this public knowlege, so I guess you missed your chance to moan and groan. There is always protests.... feel free to picket an honorable charity