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London is home to the busiest Goodwill drop-off store in Ontario, and it’s getting an upgrade to handle even more traffic, the agency says.
The retail reseller at Sherwood Forest Mall in northwest London is undergoing a major expansion and renovation to handle the growing traffic, Goodwill chief operator Scott Louch said.
But the mall itself also is in the process of a major addition, with a proposed nine-storey residential tower in the works, according to mall owner Lee Greenwood.
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“We have had a store and donation centre at Sherwood for 30 years at least and this is the third time we have expanded that store,” said Louch. “It’s a very busy store. It’s very popular and it’s our top-producing donation centre in Ontario.”
The centre sees 60,000 cars a year dropping off donations, tops in the province, he added. “It’s well stocked with good quality items, in a great area. It has a great customer base and donor base.”
The more than $1-million renovation will add about 560 sq. metres (6,000 sq. ft.) and include a new, larger area for unloading goods and a larger space for processing them, as well as expanding the retail footprint and renovations to fixtures such as lighting, windows and the store’s appearance.
After breaking ground in the spring, work should be completed by the summer of 2025, said mall manager Pam De Burgh-Thomas.
“It’s a whole new facelift. We’re very excited,” she said.
But even greater change is looming, said mall owner Greenwood. He’s in talks with the city on adding a nine-storey, 200-unit apartment tower on the mall grounds.
It will go to the city council’s planning committee likely in the new year, he said.
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“We’ve made a lot of headway. We met with city planning staff and there was a meeting of the minds,” he said.
If approved, the tower will be at the rear of the mall in the large under-used parking lot area, near the London Public Library branch that’s also in line for a possible renovation, Greenwood said.
It would be the first of what Greenwood hopes are multiple towers on the site.
“The mall works now because it has all the day-to-day services, all the amenities: A gym, a bank, a grocery store and pharmacy, dollar store and a library. All the services at your doorstep. It’s a little gem,” he said.
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