JEDA Bond Funding Helps Finance Goodwill Growth in Rock Hill
ROCK HILL, SC - Bond financing facilitated by the South Carolina Jobs-Economic Development Authority (JEDA) is helping Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont relocate to a new retail store and donation center in Rock Hill.
The $1.6 million in tax-exempt bond funding will be used to build and equip a 12,000-square-foot store at Riverview Commons Shopping Center on Mount Gallant Road. Shoppers can expect a warmer, more inviting shopping experience, as the center will also feature a convenient drive-thru to make it easy for donors to drop off items. In addition to the four jobs expected to be created during the construction stage, the new center will create or maintain 20-25 jobs.
Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont has been in operation since 1965 and currently operates 20 retail stores and more than 30 total donation sites in the Southern Piedmont region of North and South Carolina. In 2010, Goodwill assisted nearly 15,000 individuals with their job search.
Proceeds from the sale of donated items at Goodwill’s retail stores fund these job training and employment programs that assist thousands in the Southern Piedmont region each year.
“Need and opportunity know no state lines, and JEDA bond funding is helping us expand our ability to train promising new members of our area workforce while providing a new retail store and donation center,” said Gary Barrett, Vice President of Organizational Support Services for Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont.
“Goodwill serves our community in unique ways and we’re pleased to be able to facilitate their expansion,” said Joe Lucas and Margaret McGee, attorneys with the law firm of Pope Zeigler, LLC in Columbia, which served as Bond Counsel to JEDA.
“Helping projects such as this new facility for Goodwill become a reality is why JEDA was created. We are pleased to have some part in it,” said Harry Huntley, Executive Director of JEDA in Columbia.