Goodwill to open Brookfield store

Consumers will have a new secondhand shopping option when Goodwill opens its first Brookfield store.

The Brookfield Common Council on Tuesday gave the retail store the go-ahead to open in the building OfficeMax calls home at 18605 Bluemound Road. OfficeMax's lease is set to expire in 2013, but it has the opportunity to seek an extension.

Because of that possibility, Goodwill is unsure of the exact date it will open the store.

"Goodwill is honoring that lease, so there is no timetable established yet for us to be in operation, but we wanted to secure approval before becoming owner of the property," said Jay Peirick, project manager representing Goodwill in this effort.

Changes to be made

Goodwill plans to make several modifications to the 21,000-square-foot building before opening. Blue awnings will go over each window on the north and west sides of the building and clear glass will replace storefront glazing. Parking spaces in the west parking lot will be converted to a five-car donation queue.

Donation drop-off hours at the Brookfield location will be slightly different than the standard Goodwill hours. Due to neighboring businesses' concerns about traffic, the city asked Goodwill to change its donation entrance start time on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Hours slightly different

Peirick said he worries that changing the hours could possibly confuse donors who are familiar with other Goodwill locations.

"Donors are established in their patterns for donating at the 49 Goodwill locations," Peirick said. "If this location is different, there may be donations left out. If we are there at 9 a.m., we can ensure someone is there to take donations inside the building before the store opens for business."

The city sided with the neighbors, however.

Goodwill Industries provides employment, job training and other community-based programs for people with disabilities, those who lack education or job experience, and others facing challenges to finding employment. It's secondhand stores help pay for those programs.