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GOODWILL is seeking city approval to build a new retail center on Theater Road just west of the Franciscan Skemp clinic in Onalaska, officials said.
The new 29,000-square-foot retail and training center could open in mid-August if the Common Council approves the project Feb. 9, said George Burns, director of environmental services for Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin.
“We’re very excited to be coming to Onalaska,” Burns said. “We’ve been trying to get into Onalaska for some time.”
Burns estimates Goodwill will invest $3 million to $5 million in the facility, which will have 50 to 60 employees.
The city’s Plan Commission Sub-Committee gave preliminary approval Tuesday to Elmwood Partners to divide its now-vacant 10.5-acre property on Theater Road just north of Midwest Drive into two lots.
Goodwill has a contract to purchase 3.12 acres on the northern end of the Elmwood Partners property, if the city accepts the plan.
The Plan Commission will consider the request Tuesday and make a recommendation to the Common Council.
Mayor Mike Giese said he is happy to see new commercial construction, given the economy. “It’s a continued build-out of the Theater Road-Midwest Drive area,” Giese said.
But questions remain whether the Goodwill property will be tax-exempt.
“If I had my druthers, I’d like to have something on the tax rolls, not tax-exempt,” Giese said. “But we certainly need to make room for benevolent organizations and not be prejudiced against them.”
There are no potential zoning issues, as the area is zoned light industrial and the site is consistent with the 2005 Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
“What appeals to me about this is how the organization is in the business of recycling and reusing things,” said Jason Gilman, the city’s land use and development director. “They have contracts with industries that recycle fabric and materials so they can be reused.”
In keeping with the recycling tradition, the building’s design will include green-friendly techniques, Burns said.
The Onalaska center will be Goodwill North Central’s second-largest retail facility in Wisconsin and the second in the La Crosse area, Burns said. Goodwill recently extended the lease for its store in Bridgeview Plaza on La Crosse’s North Side, he said.
“Our intent is to plan on operating both facilities,” Burns said. (www.lacrossetribune.com/21012010)