The Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin board of directors approved plans to build a new 142,000-square-foot Center for Work & Training in Oak Creek.
The Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin board of directors has approved plans to build a new 142,000-square-foot Center for Work & Training in Oak Creek at 140 E. Rawson Ave.
The new facility will replace a building that Goodwill presently leases near Mitchell International Airport at 200 W. Vogel Ave.
This new facility also will enable Goodwill to free up space and renovate the James O. Wright Center (JOW) at 6055 N. 91st St. to better serve Milwaukee’s northwest side. Renovation plans at the JOW include expanded vocational training, day services and senior services, and a new cafeteria and kitchen with improved food service training space. A Workforce Connection Center is also under consideration.
During the recession, the need for services for people with disabilities and disadvantages will continue to grow, according to Goodwill officials.
The new Center for Work & Training in Oak Creek will house about 300 program participants who will be relocated from the leased building on Vogel Avenue. Other areas that will relocate from Vogel Avenue include light manufacturing, document shredding, senior services and case management. Skill training in food service and business careers will be added to the new facility and all administrative staff will move there.
"After four years of careful planning, we are confident this decision is in the best long-term interest of Goodwill and the people and communities we serve. The economic slowdown presented opportunity for significant construction and material cost savings, making this the right time," said John Miller, president and chief executive officer of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin. "Goodwill has been responding to the needs of our community for 90 years and wants to position itself to continue to do so well into the future."
