Goodwill Amity closes downtown thrift shop
 

Goodwill Amity closes downtown thrift shop

February 04, 2008
Amberly Mcateer
Special to The Hamilton Spectator


Lucky Lucinou peered into the dark windows of the Goodwill second-hand store on King William Street, where he had shopped for many years.

A "closed for business" sign stared back.

The retail store has shut its doors to make way for a $3-million revamp of the building, which will house services for the disabled, jobless and youth at risk.

"It's just hard to believe it's gone," Lucinou said.

Business was poor at the downtown location, said Goodwill Amity president Paul Chapin, and donations were routinely stolen after hours.

The company spent $26,000 last year removing garbage from its donation area -- an extra expense it couldn't afford.

"There were dirty, ratty couches that we couldn't possibly sell, kitchen food scraps ... We even had dead animals in bags."

Chapin said that the building could be put to better use, and he worked with the public school board's youth-at-risk program and the community-run brain injury rehabilitation service.

Both projects will be moved to the King William Street building in the coming year.

As well, Chapin says the building's empty warehouse space will be transformed into a facility that will help Hamilton's poor and disabled find jobs.

Sam Hanna works with troubled youth at the John Howard Society, above the closed thrift shop.

He hopes the youth program will reduce the number of criminally involved young people he councils.

But closing the thrift shop "doesn't make too much sense," as many of the city's poorest -- who live nearby in conditions he compared to the former Soviet Union -- relied on it for their daily needs.

Theatre Aquarius, across the street from the Amity building, often used cheap props from the store for its productions, according to Shari Scandlan, who works in the box office.

Many women who work at the theatre bargain-hunted there several times a week, she said.

"I wouldn't want to see it vacant, I'll tell you that," she said, remembering a bar in the neighbourhood that turned into a "crack house" after it closed.

The success of the incoming programs will determine if the neighbourhood changes for better or worse, she said.

"If there's just going to be more kids outside smoking or more writing on the walls, that's no use to anyone."

Longtime resident Leonard Gillard passes the building everyday. He saw a lot of shoppers that were "just people trying to get by."

"That store did a lot of good ... it's a real shame for this city," he said, adding that many of the surrounding buildings are empty. "That's where they can put their employment centre ... People depend on that store and it should have been left alone."

Wasn't there talk to convert this bldg into lofts years ago? I wish that were still the plan as it would be a perfect loft conversion (altho we all thought that about the old Spec Bldg/Trinity Landing).

I'm glad to hear it's going to help people get onto their feet though!

If you're looking for another thirft store downtown, there's one on King bet James/John.

Even the thrift shops have fled to the suburbs? Sad but true. A thrift shop feeds off its own demographic so the fact that there are alot of people around who depend on cheap goods means there's not going to be alot of quality coming in.

I'm sad to see this place go, but in fairness I've seen it go downhill over the years. Does anyone remember the downstairs they used to have? All the junk was down there, and the main floor was just for clothes.

Hopefully the Salvation Army on King stays open.

st vincent de paul thrift store on cumberland closed down this past month too...

Seems to me Goodwill recently closed down their Ottawa Street location too.

I believe there has been a "change in zoning" notice sign posted at that location. And yes, it's been closed for a while now.

However they opened a new store down the street from me on Parkdale at Britannia.

so maybe they just moved

the BFM thrift store on concession moved late last year ... too bad too i liked that spot

Yeah, they may have moved. But people are still piling their crap infront of the gate despite the giant "No Dumping" signs.

I guess it's true, we humans trully are creatures of habit.