BEVERLY — Goodwill Industries International will take over the former St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store in Beverly.
Construction will begin Sept. 10 on the 15,000-square-foot store at 9321 S. Western Ave., according to Pat Boelter, chief marketing officer for Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin, Inc.
Boelter expects the store to reopen in March after an extensive renovation that will include the demolition of a portion of the building and the addition of a drive-through donation drop-off lane.
"It will be very similar to a lot of the stores across the nation we run," said Boelter, saying the success of the Goodwill at 1201 W. Washington Blvd. on the Near West Side contributed to the decision to add the store in Beverly.
Proceeds from Goodwill's stores are used to provide training, employment and supportive services to people with disabilities or disadvantages who seek greater independence, according to the charity's website.
Last year, Goodwill provided job training and other such services to more than 64,500 men and women with disabilities and disadvantages. Roughly 25 percent of the charity's workforce has disabilities — more than any private-sector business in the area.
Boelter said most of what shoppers will see in the store will come from donations made by those living nearby. She was unaware of the reasons St. Vincent's closed in March but also wasn't worried about Goodwill's future in the same location.
"We really put a lot of time and effort into which locations make the most sense," Boelter said.
Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) said the deal to bring Goodwill to Beverly is more than six months in the making. He estimated that Goodwill will invest $1 million to improve the building that was previously home to St. Vincent's.
O'Shea also said that he's shopped that building and others, including Trader Joe's. With little interest from such users, O'Shea said he's content with Goodwill taking over and dramatically improving the look of the building.
"As wonderful as St. Vincent De Paul was to the neighborhood, the building needs a lot of work," O'Shea said. And Goodwill "is a higher end user than St. Vincent De Paul."
Secondhand apparel, offline and online, is an $18 billion industry and forecast to grow by about 11 percent per year and become a $33 billion industry by 2021, according to a Forbes report.
