Construction on Cape's Goodwill store nears completion

Construction on the Goodwill retail store in Cape Girardeau is nearing completion.

Mark Kahrs, executive vice president of retail at MERS/Goodwill, said work will be complete by the end of April, at which point the store will be running “at full strength.”

The facility at 250 S. Silver Springs Road will be considerably larger when the work is finished. Kahrs said when compared to other Goodwill locations, the Cape Girardeau store was relatively small. When the retail store opened on Silver Springs Road in 1999, the space totaled 9,500 square feet.

With the renovation, the facility will increase to 14,500 square feet. The remodeled sales floor will total 9,500 square feet, compared to the original 5,100.

“We almost double our sales-floor space,” Kahrs said.

Much of the expansion comes from the addition of a new back room, truck docks and a donation drive-through.

Kahrs said the new layout will be more shopper-friendly and increase efficiency for employees. The entrance to the store will be moved to the north end of the building, and the drive-through drop-off area will be to the south.

“By having that fully covered drop-off that’s a little more divided off the main parking lot area, our hope is to make it that much more convenient for any donors,” Kahrs said.

Kahrs does not expect a need to increase staff. The facility updates, he said, will improve employee efficiency and increase production with the current staff. For example, the addition of truck docks will remove the need to load and unload the trucks manually.

Renovations at the Cape Girardeau location have taken longer than similar projects, Kahrs said, because the company kept the store open during construction.

With the end in sight, he looks forward to getting the store back to business as usual.

“We’re really excited. It’s always been a good store for us,” Kahrs said. “It’s just always been really small.”

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

250 South Silver Springs Rd. Cape Girardeau, MO