As one of Hamden’s local Goodwill stores will be moving out of its 2369 Dixwell Ave. home, the chain’s officials have told the Independent the nonprofit is officially searching for a spot to reopen elsewhere in town.
Following news that Cornell Scott Hill Health Center is seeking municipal approvals to lease out thrift store space to house an independent community clinic, Goodwill’s Chief Information Officer Marcus O. Notz informed the Independent that Goodwill has long been looking for a more appropriate site to continue their work — but have yet to find the right location.
“This store has always been a very important site to us, and serving the people of this neighborhood has been a long part of our history. We are indeed looking to relocate within the same general area, and have been trying to find a new location for this store for many years,” Notz wrote in an email to the Independent.
“The current store and configuration of the building just doesn’t work for us anymore, and it has become challenging to run this store while providing ample parking, easy donation drop off, as well as a great shopping experience for our shoppers and ample, well laid out work spaces for our team members.”
“Some time ago we were approached by a party that was interested in the property, and since we already knew that we’re looking for a new location, we entertained this approach and were hoping to find a new location in time before closing down the current one,” he said. “At this point in time, we’re still searching for a new spot in the area that matches our requirements and needs … We’re looking for possibilities where we can serve the communities in more ways, like most of our new stores do or will feature in-store ‘Power of Work’ Employment centers that offer a variety of career services and training opportunities.
“Hopefully the timing will work out for only a very short duration where we may not have a store and donation center in the Hamden area. The plan is definitely to have a bigger, better and easier to shop and donate location in Hamden as soon as possible after the current location may close.”
Once Goodwill identifies a potential building for a new donation center, Hamden will be on track to continue boasting two Goodwills, including the extant outlet store on State Street which is ostensibly remaining open for business.
Hill Health C.E.O. Michael Taylor said that he expects to get the go-ahead to reconstruct the small Dixwell Avenue building within the next two months and hopes to open the health clinic by the beginning of January 2023. Then the town will have a third source of goodwill — in the form of sliding-fee, accessible healthcare.
Just giving a quick nod of acknowledgment for that delightful pun in the headline