Goodwill wants to build facility on U.S. 278 in greater Bluffton

Goodwill Industries of Lower South Carolina wants to bring a store to the greater Bluffton area.

Plans for the 25,000-square-foot building, which would include a retail shop, a drive-through drop-off area and a job center, were unveiled at Monday's meeting of the Southern Beaufort County Corridor Review Board.

If approved, the store would be on the south side of U.S. 278 between Stokes Brown Toyota and Island West.

Goodwill Industries does assessments every year of the 18 counties it serves to determine which areas are best suited for new Goodwill centers, said Jennifer Oldal, marketing manager for Goodwill.

The Bluffton area is one of four -- and the only local area -- scheduled to have a center open next year, Oldal said.

Goodwill also has a retail store on Hilton Head Island. The Beaufort Goodwill location has a retail store as well as a "Job Link" center, which has computerized job listings and staff to help find jobs for those facing challenges such as mental or physical disabilities, Oldal said.

The Hilton Head and Beaufort locations would remain open, she said.

Plans for the new center still need work, according to members of the Southern Beaufort County Corridor Review Board, who got a first look at the proposal Monday.

Board members asked the developer, North Carolina-based Piedmont Companies, not to include the signature blue roof and to put in heavy landscaping along the back of the building, which faces 12 homes in Island West.

The developer and architect, Dennis Williams of North Carolina-based Williams Design, said his group would revise the plans and return to the board.

Island West residents also voiced concerns about how the back of the store would affect the 12 homes that face it.

Bill Kromimus, president of the Island West Homeowners Association, said the residents' concerns were similar to the ones the board already had pointed out to the developers.

Specifically, the homeowners association wants the Goodwill sign on the rear of the building removed from the plans; minimum lighting on the rear of the building; the blue roof removed from the plan and assurances that the back of the building wouldn't be a dumping ground for donations.