Goodwill plans to build new Nashville headquarters

The local chapter of Goodwill Industries plans an overhaul of its headquarters and training center in North Nashville.

Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee Inc. has decided to replace its current offices on Herman Street with a new 29,000-square-foot facility. The building will let the organization add new training courses and enroll more students in its popular computer classes, said David Lifsey, the Middle Tennessee chapter's president and chief executive.

Construction could begin as soon as January, depending on economic conditions.

"We're going to do this eventually, but we're monitoring things and looking at whether it's prudent or not," Lifsey said. "The need's there."

Board approved proposal

To make room for the new building, which will stand at the corner of Herman and 9th Avenue North, one block from the Nashville Farmers' Market, Goodwill plans to tear down a one-story brick warehouse built more than a half-century ago that has housed Goodwill since 1968. "It has served us well," Lifsey said, "but it's time to get with the neighborhood."

The building would be backed by $4.7 million in bonds issued through Metro's Industrial Development Board and repaid using revenues from Goodwill's used clothing sales, the organization's dominant source of revenue.

The Industrial Development Board approved the proposal at a hearing earlier this week.

The bonds are to be purchased by SunTrust Bank through a private placement. That deal was arranged in August and could be postponed if the credit markets remain frozen, Lifsey said.

The project could also be put off if the nation's economic downturn drives down clothing sales, Lifsey said.

The new building would be two stories tall, with a skeleton strong enough to support a third level. The building, which would take about 11 months to build, would give Goodwill the capacity to double its computer programs, which currently attract about 50 people to 75 people a week.

The building would have space set aside for Goodwill's forklift operation and security guard training programs. The organization's main offices would remain at the location; the new building would not have a clothing store.

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