Inside Look: Dearborn Goodwill Store Set to Open in September

With construction progressing on schedule, Goodwill of Metro Detroit is now only two months away from , ending a decade-long drought where no business had occupied the space.

More: Follow the history of Goodwill's move into Dearborn on Patch.

Jeff Ukrainec, the Goodwill director of Donated Goods, said the community has taken notice of the soon-to-be-open resale store on Newman, which has been under construction for a few months.

“It's going well and I think it's created a lot of buzz,” he said. “People are anxious for it to open up because they see things happening here finally—for over 10 years nothing's been happening at this particular location.”

Conversation surrounding the store has been vibrant for the better part of 2012, circulating around the Dearborn City Plan Commission's that would allow Goodwill to move in to west Dearborn.

That request was following four months of debate.

Ukrainec added that Goodwill believes the business will benefit the Dearborn community, not only through the traffic it will bring in the form of shoppers, but also the job opportunities it will provide for metro Detroiters. The latter advantage, Ukrainec said, is a special facet of the social welfare mission of the Goodwill company, which aims to train and employ people considered to have employment problems.

“All the revenue from those purchases and donations support our employment and training programs to either give people the skills necessary to get a job or … create a business to create jobs,” he said.

Goodwill has invested $500,000 into the project, according to Public Relations Director Mark Lane. He added that this will be the second resale store Goodwill has opened in southeastern Michigan as part of a plan to open 20 stores in 10 years.

The first store, opened in December 2010, is located in Canton.

While its location near residences and housing initially presented extra hurdles for the store, Ukrainec said that since then, opening the store has been very straight forward.

“The city's been nothing but cooperative and great to work with, helping us along the way with anything that we need internally or any suggestions (for following) code,” he said.

The store plans to open and be fully-stocked in early September, Ukrainec said. Six management positions at the store have been filled, but 15 applications for hourly positions will be posted this week.