View Full Version : Goodwill Donation Center to open in Downtown..Maybe???



BoulderSooner
01-27-2011, 11:33 AM
goodwill center coming to 5th and hudson is on the planning commision agenada today

the downtown design review committee is against it, Dowell is against it, DEI the owners of the Regency are against it ... so of course the city staff is recomending approval

http://okc.gov/AgendaPub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=849&doctype=AGENDA item 15

Bailey80
01-27-2011, 11:36 AM
I talked to Goodwill on Wednesday and they said they were going to ask for a continuance until Feb. 10 at the Planning Commission today.

Business, property owners protest plans for downtown recycling center

By Brianna Bailey
Oklahoma City reporter - Contact 405-278-2847
Posted: 12:10 PM Thursday, January 27, 2011

Some downtown business and property owners are crying foul over plans to open a new Goodwill Industries donation and recycling center near the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma wants to convert a long-shuttered, 5,415 square-foot service station near the corner of Northwest Fifth Street and Hudson Avenue into a collection center for recyclable goods. The center would benefit downtown residents who don’t have access to the city’s curb-side recycling service, as well as create hands-on learning experiences for students in Goodwill’s recycling technician job training program, Jennifer Bradford said, communications and business development coordinator for Goodwill.
“This site is going to be maintained very well and we want this to be a great service to the community,” Bradford said. “We weren’t really expecting opposition from property owners.”
The Park Plaza District Redevelopment Corp., which represents property and business owners near in the Park Plaza area, is fighting plans for the Goodwill recycling center. The group claims the recycling center would drag down their property values and discourage future commercial development in the area.
“It’s just a very peculiar place to put something like that–I don’t know what they were thinking,” developer Rick Dowell said, president of the Park Plaza Redevelopment Corp. “It isn’t in the best interest of the development of this area.”
DEI Communities, which manages the 24-story Regency Tower apartment complex at 333 NW Fifth St., has also voiced its opposition to the recycling center.
An Omaha, Neb.-based real estate investment firm purchased the Regency Tower in June for $17.2 million and the complex is undergoing $1 million worth of renovations.
The proposed recycling center would sit directly across the street from the high-rise apartment complex.
DEI Communities was “surprised” to learn of plans for the recycling center across from the Regency Tower, Troy Arnold, a regional vice president for the property management company wrote in a letter of protest to the Oklahoma City Planning Commission.
“We are also extremely concerned that the addition of the donation center will have a negative consequence on the value of our recent investments and hurt our ability to do business leasing apartments,” Arnold wrote.
Bradford believes misinformation about the recycling and donation center is part of the problem. The center would only be used as a collection and sorting point for recyclables, she said. The materials collected at the site will be processed off site. All of the recyclable will be sorted and collected inside a car bay, off the street and out of sight.
Security guards, “no-dumping” signs and surveillance cameras will discourage after-hours dumping at the recycling center, Bradford said.
The Oklahoma City Downtown Design Review Committee rejected plans for the recycling and donation center earlier this month, claiming the project wouldn’t fit with the surrounding area.
The Oklahoma City Planning Commission is slated to consider approving a special permit for the recycling center on Feb. 10.

UnFrSaKn
01-27-2011, 12:17 PM
That whole building is where the new park will be.

EDIT: doh, wrong 5th street.

BoulderSooner
01-27-2011, 01:10 PM
good find Bailey .. what amazes me is that even with the Downtown Design review commitee against it and local property owners against it that the city staff recomends approval

Spartan
01-27-2011, 02:02 PM
City staff recommends approval based on its compliance with ordinances. This is one of those rare cases where the issues outside the purview of unbiased city staff are in fact quite compelling.

Kerry
01-27-2011, 02:03 PM
I donate stuff to Goodwill all the time and I use a facility similar to what is described. It is drop-off only and no sales take place on site but it still looks junky. I have also noticed homeless people in the area at night going throught the stuff dropped off after-hours. I think that would be the biggest problem. I have to think there are areas around downtown that would be more suited for this kind of function.

metro
01-27-2011, 02:22 PM
Maybe it will match the back of the main Goodwill the city bought on SW 4th, it's so classy now there are couches and other furniture where bums are actually living in the yard on the backside of the building.

Kerry
01-27-2011, 03:59 PM
Maybe it will match the back of the main Goodwill the city bought on SW 4th, it's so classy now there are couches and other furniture where bums are actually living in the yard on the backside of the building.

Bums? Those are called Urban Campers.

OKCMallen
01-27-2011, 04:04 PM
Bums? Those are called Urban Campers.

Hehe. Then it's a helluva campground. Almost a state park.

Spartan
01-27-2011, 11:47 PM
Complete with wildlife...

Larry OKC
01-28-2011, 12:45 AM
The Urban Campers are just securing their spot in the new MAPS 3 park

swilki
01-29-2011, 06:28 PM
I am very much for more recycling centers, especially in areas where residents and business don't traditionally have access to such facilities (i.e. downtown). However, there really has to be a better place to put this. Also, if downtown residents are looking for a place to recycle things just head over to Green Star on Main Street.

mcca7596
05-06-2011, 06:13 PM
This was denied at the April 28th Planning Commission meeting! Thank goodness. I couldn't find a document which showed the denial, but I watched the meeting in its entirety. The vote was 6-2 against it.

What a horrible impression it would have been to outsiders at the most visited site in the state. A higher use certainly exists for that property, regardless of how long it has been vacant.

Just skip to the end to see the vote:

http://www.okc.gov/AgendaPub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=1392&doctype=AGENDA

metro
05-08-2011, 03:22 PM
Thank goodness.

swilki
05-08-2011, 07:59 PM
As much as I love recycling and advocate it on a daily basis, I am happy to see this result. There has to be a better place to put this.

Pete
06-10-2011, 11:19 AM
Goodwill just applied for a building permit for this downtown site (minor renovations to the existing structure) so I guess this is moving forward?

BoulderSooner
06-10-2011, 01:16 PM
Goodwill just applied for a building permit for this downtown site (minor renovations to the existing structure) so I guess this is moving forward?

it is on the council agenda for next tuesday ... but downtown design was against it and planning commision voted it down .. so i doubt it passes council

Doug Loudenback
06-10-2011, 02:21 PM
it is on the council agenda for next tuesday ... but downtown design was against it and planning commision voted it down .. so i doubt it passes council
Thanks for that good report, BolderSooner.

Thunder
06-10-2011, 02:43 PM
I hope it goes forward. We need more Goodwill stores. They are opening donation centers...waste of money. They should be opening new stores that will also accept donations.

Doug Loudenback
06-10-2011, 03:02 PM
Sounds to me like Crossroads Mall would be a good place for it ... I hear they have space available ... :ohno:

Steve
06-10-2011, 09:59 PM
Not seeing it on Tuesday's agenda...

mcca7596
06-10-2011, 10:43 PM
Why are they applying for a building permit then, after being denied by the Design Committee and Planning Comission?

rcjunkie
06-11-2011, 05:15 AM
Why are they applying for a building permit then, after being denied by the Design Committee and Planning Comission?

This happens all the time, even though the Design Committee and Planning Commission, the Council can still approve it if they choose, doesn't happen very often, but it has on rare occasion.

Patrick
06-11-2011, 06:09 PM
Why are they applying for a building permit then, after being denied by the Design Committee and Planning Comission?

They're building it on the west lawn of city hall, right outside the mayor's window.

BoulderSooner
06-11-2011, 07:02 PM
Not seeing it on Tuesday's agenda...

me either steve. I was told that it was going to be on the agenda for the 14th meeting .. i guess it could be on next weeks instead

BoulderSooner
06-17-2011, 12:23 PM
Goodwill is on the june 21 agenda under Item XIII B. recomended for denial

leonidas
06-21-2011, 01:09 PM
Goodwill Industries withdrew their application for a special use permit prior to the City Council meeting on June 21, 2011. Their original plan after being turned down for a special permit, at the urban design committee, and City planning commission, was to take the matter to the City Council where they could flex their considerable charitable might. Unfortunately, for Goodwill, due the immediate property owners's united front - buzz saw protest against a recycling center located 200 feet from the bombing memorial, Oklahoma City ordinances required a super majority of the City Council to approve the special use permit. Apparently, Goodwill did not have the votes, so it temporarily withdrew its application for a special use permit.

It would be my biased opinion that Goodwill Industries is very interested in cashing in on the Federal Government block grants available for recycling centers. Goodwill was awarded a grant by OKC to conduct the recycling at 520 Hudson, however, nobody seemed to notice that recycling, as a use of property, was prohibited by City Zoning Ordinances.

The people, in this case property owners, were the last protectors of the law and the Bombing Memorial. I do not expect Goodwill to give up. They want the money! They are probably reconsidering their options. Please see the blog site, Robert-R-Robles.com, law firm blog, for a complete rundown on the battle with Goodwill Industries over the downtown recycling center.

Pete
06-22-2011, 09:42 AM
Thanks for all the information.

Will be interesting to see how this plays out.

leonidas
07-08-2011, 11:26 AM
Goodwill Industries announces that Heather Rennebohm, CEO, abruptly resigns for personal reasons. Please see the article from the Daily Oklahoman attached for your reading pleasure.

CEO of Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma steps down

Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma has announced the resignation of CEO Heather Rennebohm. Chris Daniels, vice president of operations, has been appointed interim CEO. Daniels has been a member of the Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma executive team for 10 years.

FROM STAFF REPORTS 1
Published: July 7, 2011

Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma has announced the resignation of CEO Heather Rennebohm.


CEO of Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma steps down

Rennebohm notified the board of directors this week that she needs to leave the organization to take care of pressing family matters, according to a news release.
Chris Daniels, vice president of operations, has been appointed interim CEO. Daniels has been a member of the Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma executive team for 10 years. He completed the Goodwill Industries International executive training certification program in 2008.

“The Goodwill board of directors is appreciative of Heather’s many contributions to the organization during the past three years and wishes her and her family nothing but success,” Scott Briggs, board president, stated in the news release.

Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma is a nonprofit organization and United Way partner agency. It was formed in September 1936 and employs more than 500 individuals.

The organization served more than 6,000 people in 2010, operating on a budget of nearly $14 million.

kevinpate
07-08-2011, 01:52 PM
Nothing but good wishes and blessings for her and her family.