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Business & Tech

Goodwill Good for the 'Hood? New Merchant Poll Reflects Range of Views

Word that Goodwill is considering a new store on upper Solano is creating a stir.

A recent hot-button issue on Berkeley’s end of Solano Avenue is the buzz up and down the thoroughfare, including in Albany, as people ponder what’s good for the 'hood.

Goodwill Industries of the East Bay is considering locating one of its trademark second-hand stores at 1831 Solano Ave. in a vacant building that once housed Front Row Video and the World of Dance Studio. The studio has been shuttered for six years.

The nonprofit, whose primary mission is providing job training, is in talks with the owner of the property and the City of Berkeley about opening the new store, but no decisions have been made. The site would need considerable remodeling.

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Word of the possible new kid on the block has brought apprehension as well as support.

In media reports in Berkeleyside, the San Francisco Chronicle and NBC Bay Area, several nearby merchants expressed their opposition, saying, among other things, they worry people will dump used clothes in front of the store, or that trucks won’t have room to maneuver. Some started a petition opposing the plan.

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Other business owners say they welcome the purveyor of used clothing and household goods.

The , a business group with about 250 members, last week polled businesses located close to the proposed Goodwill site. Allen Cain, executive director of the association, said merchants between The Alameda and Ensenada Avenue were asked only, "Goodwill on Solano? Yes. No. Maybe."

The results reflect divided views.

  • 33 no (13 non / 20 Solano Avenue Association members)
  • 25 yes (10 non / 15 association members)
  • 14 maybe (4 non / 10 association members)
  • 6 merchants said they couldn’t officially comment (chain stores)
  • 4 merchants said their opinions are already known

The issue is being discussed by merchants along all of Solano, Cain said, but the association chose to poll only those in the vicinity of the site.

Kimberly Scarafano, Goodwill’s vice-president for development and community affairs, said she’s been surprised by negative reactions to a store at the Solano spot. Goodwill stores are popular with shoppers of all income levels, she said.

"I think there’s a misconception of who our shoppers and donors are," she said.

Scarafano said Goodwill continues to talk with the owner of the building and hasn’t pulled back or moved forward since the media attention.

"We’re still at the very beginning steps of looking at the site. We don’t know if it’s a good fit," she said.

Goodwill Industries of the East Bay, which operates 26 stores in Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano counties, is expanding, and it's interested in the North Berkeley-Albany area, Scarafano said. She added that the demand for the organization’s job training program has surged in the recession. 

Several merchants near the site contacted by Patch last week said they won’t comment on the issue, citing what they described as negative media attention.

The Berkeley and Albany Chambers of Commerce haven’t taken official positions on the issue, but are likely to discuss it at future meetings, said their executive directors.

The same goes for the Solano Avenue Association, Cain said.

"The association does not have an official position at this time," he said Friday.

He added, "If not a Goodwill, then what? You’re talking about a vacancy of six years. No one has been biting at this spot."

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