Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest purchases property on the West Plains for new retail space

Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest has purchased land on the West Plains to build a new retail store and salvage processing area.

The organization acquired a 6-acre site in June for $770,000 near the southeast corner of Deer Heights Road and Flight Drive in Airway Heights, according to the Spokane County Assessor’s Office.

The facility, which is anticipated to be nearly 60,000-square feet, will provide “a more convenient Goodwill shopping experience for the growing population in the West Plains area,” according to the organization. The closest Goodwill store and donation center to Airway Heights is in downtown Spokane.

Goodwill’s retail stores are the primary source of support for its programs. It invests more than 85 cents of every dollar from the sale of goods donated into supporting its programs.

“We take the items people don’t want anymore and use that revenue to fund programs that are helping people get training and employment, housing support, and build financial stability,” Clark Brekke, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest, said in a statement. “And for many people, our stores are a launching point for new job experience and new careers.”

The Airway Heights facility will also assist in Goodwill’s efforts to eliminate waste through its salvage processing area.

Goodwill’s facilities in the Spokane area conduct some salvage and recycling sorting as part of normal operations. The organization’s outlet store at 1406 E. Front Ave. currently is the primary location for salvage processing, Heather Alexander, spokeswoman for Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest, said in an email.

“We are working toward a goal to become a zero waste agency,” Alexander said. “Over the last four years, Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest has kept more than 94 million pounds of materials out of local landfills through its resale, recycling and salvage operations. That is enough material to fill 6,300 garbage trucks.”

Goodwill is releasing a request for qualifications for design-build teams for the West Plains project in the coming weeks. It anticipates opening the new West Plains facility in the summer of 2022.

Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest, founded in 1939, has 14 stores as well as nine workforce and family services offices in Eastern Washington and North Idaho.