Goodwill Gearing Up For Move To Bay Street

Goodwill of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin is gearing up for its big move of its headquarters to the border of Fisherman's Wharf and North Beach in 2016, and we talked to executive director Maureen Sedonaen to find out more about what the community can expect.

"It’s good we’re able to find a new headquarters in the city," Sedonaen said, noting that many organizations have been priced out. "We sold it because it’s too small for us to run our businesses and do what we do well."

Goodwill sold its current 2.3-acre campus at Mission Street and Van Ness Avenue to Related California, which is planning residential development, retail and offices on the site, for $65 million. It purchased the former North Point Theater at 295 Bay St. for $16 million. The 35,000-square-foot space was built in 1967; the theater closed in 1997 and the building was previously used as office space even though the marquee remains.

The move will happen in phases starting in the spring, and Goodwill should be fully situated in its new home by the fall, Sedonaen said, although it does plan to host a 100-year anniversary celebration at the old site. It's moving its warehouse, store, donation site, workforce center, offices and e-commerce business. The site on Bay Street will house corporate offices, a community training room and center, and workforce services.

The new headquarters will not, however, include a thrift store.

"Some of our stores are going to be consolidated in San Francisco," Sedonaen said, and the warehouse will move to South San Francisco. She added the company is looking for some new retail opportunities and donation opportunities across the region it serves, which includes San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties.

In addition to offices for about 65 people, the new space will include a center for workforce services: "We partner with over 140 employers currently and we serve as a workforce pipeline," Sedonaen said. “We’ll certainly be able to help the people in the neighborhood find great employees.” They provide workshops, training, resume writing and interview skills, and pair people with employers. “Last year we placed about 650 people in jobs,” she said, from retail, restaurant and hospitality, warehouse work, transportation and technology jobs and transportation—"every sector that you can imagine," she said.

And, as anyone who plans meetings will be happy to hear, Sedonaen said they have a board room and two large conference rooms that can hold between eight to 50 people, and community groups can use them. The site also will include coworking space for incubator businesses with a "double bottom line mission" of fiscal performance and social impact.

Sedonaen sees Goodwill as a good neighbor to the many businesses in the Wharf and surrounding areas. "We’ll definitely have a neighborhood open house just for the neighbors shortly after we move in," she said, to welcome employers looking to find workers, and also to engage with those looking for work.