City Planning Deadlocked – Goodwill A Bad Idea?

DEARBORN, Michigan –  Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit wants to spend $500,000 to renovate a 15,000 square foot building (former Inca computer store) in Dearborn that has been empty for over a decade. The vote Monday night at the Dearborn Planning Commission meeting ended up in a stalemate – with 4 votes for and 4 votes against.  The matter will be taken up again at the March 12 meeting.

Commissioners Said Deep, Nasser Alrayashi, Chris Forsyth and Nancy Siwik all voted against the proposed Goodwill upscale re-sale shop.  Said Deep explained his ideas in a lengthy blog post  that was updated after the  Monday night meeting:

“The Dearborn City Plan Commission voted 4 to 4 Monday night on  a request for a special land use from Goodwill Industries to open a second-hand store in downtown West Dearborn.”

“Like the first meeting, I voted to deny the request for a special land use. Goodwill now plans to come to the Plan Commission for a third time, perhaps as early as next month to seek approval.

Let’s be clear. This isn’t about whether Goodwill is good for Dearborn. It is all about the proposed location. Goodwill could be a good addition to our city. But the building in which it is so aggressively trying to locate its second-hand store is simply not a good fit for our city. There are other locations in Dearborn that are more suitable.”

“Forget the argument that Canton has a Goodwill store on Ford Road. It’s not applicable here. The Goodwill store on Ford Road moved into a thriving retail area. Some of Goodwill’s Canton retail neighbors include Pier 1, Michaels, a stand-alone JC Penny, IKEA and a host of restaurants too numerous to list here.”

“Dearborn’s self-esteem appears to be at an all-time low but that doesn’t mean our city should accept this store in this proposed location as the best we can do.”

WJBK Fox 2 News’ Huel Perkins asks:  “Is a Goodwill store a bad idea? ” – “That’s what the city of Dearborn is now debating…” said Perkins in his Monday night news report. “The traffic flow here is phenomenal. You’ve got the surrounding businesses that want it, and the (local) residents are in support of us, and the demographics show that we will be a success.” said Jeff Ukrainec of Goodwill Industries.

Clearly, people are very interested in how Dearborn can move forward, and readers continue grappling with the role of non-profit,  resale, and discount items.  The two top stories yesterday (in terms of website views) were:

1. Panera Bread Opens Non-Profit Community Cafe – a old story that keeps getting talked about –  published on November 22, 2010
2. Goodwill Moving Forward With Plans for Dearborn Store

Meanwhile – in Seattle, Washington,  Goodwill is breaking ground on Wednesday morning for a brand new 49,562 square foot education, training, and administration building. The investment in Seattle will be several million dollars.

Related Stories and Links

• In Support of Goodwill in Dearborn –  Letter to the Editor – Dearborn Patch
• Three Things That Make No Sense to Me – Opinion – Morris Goodman – Dearborn Press and Guide
• Goodwill Dearborn Petition Held Up Again by City Plan Commission – Dearborn Patch
• Dearborn Planning Commission Split on Goodwill Store – WJBK – Fox-2 News
• Goodwill Seeks OK for Dearborn Second Hand Store – DeepSaidWhat?
• Goodwill Moving Forward With Plans for Dearborn Store – Dearborn Free Press
• City Asks for Further Review of Goodwill Store Plan – Dearborn Patch
• Goodwill Aims to Secure Dearborn Store Approval At Planning Commission Tonight – Dearborn Patch
• Henry Ford’s common sense needed in West Downtown Dearborn – Dearborn Press and Guide
• Dearborn Planning Commission Deadlocks on Goodwill Store Proposal – Dearborn Press and Guide
• Goodwill Industries Eyes West Dearborn Location – DeepSaidWhat.com
• Goodwill Showing Interest in Dearborn Retail Location – Dearborn Press and Guide – OpEd item by Jennifer Knott Giering – President of the Dearborn Chamber of Commerce
• Happy Birthday to Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit’s flagship resale store in Canton, Mich. –story on Goodwill Industries website
• Goodwill Industries Named Crain Detroit’s 2011 Best Managed Non-Profit – story on Goodwill Industries website – reprinted from Crain’s Detroit Business – ( download a PDF of that article )
• Goodwill Dearborn Store – Facebook Page