“Although we are disappointed by the outcome, we respect the decision and will be meeting with the center’s owner to determine the best path forward,” said Barbie Parker, vice president of fund development and community relations for Goodwill Houston, in a statement to Community Impact.
Lauren Bottonari, Dallas-based vice president and market officer for Regency Centers, which leases the property, said the team is now digesting the feedback it received at the Nov. 5 meeting.
"There is always a path forward, and the key is to ensure all parties understand what the map really looks like," she said.
What happened
About 80 people filled the small board room for The Woodlands Township’s Development Standards Committee meeting Nov. 5 to hear presentations on the four requests from Goodwill and Regency Centers. The DSC enforces standards governing residential and commercial property use, according to information from the township.
Goodwill and Regency proposed an 8,640-square-foot location at 4747 Research Forest Drive, Ste. 450, The Woodlands, that would include a donation center entrance in the back and space inside the facility for sorting. The site was a former CVS location. The applications and variances before the DSC were for:
- A garage roll-up door and lighted canopies
- A staging and storage area
- Building signs in front and back
- A blade sign, which hangs under the canopied walkway in front of the center
In addition to residents at the meeting, DSC officials said they received a total of 53 calls or emails before the meeting, of which one was in favor, three were “concerned” and 49 were opposed to the plan. An online petition started Nov. 4 had also gathered 566 signatures by 9 p.m. Nov. 4.
The background
DSC Chair Arthur Bredehoft said the matter had previously come before the commission in August, when it was referred to The Woodlands Land Development Company to weigh in on whether the store would be a permitted use under the deed for the property.
The DSC determines whether the proposed use complies with the initial land-use designation, or ILUD, for the property, which stipulates that warehouse uses are prohibited. However, TWLDC, which is a subsidiary of Howard Hughes, is also involved in the transaction as it holds the general warranty deed to the property, as explained at the meeting. The general warranty deed stipulates that the property must conform to a “first-class use.”
Howard Hughes stated in a letter sent to the DSC after the Aug. 20 meeting that it does not object to the tenancy if the DSC determines the proposed use is not expressly prohibited in the deed restrictions and the tenant can meet other standards at the center, according to a presentation at the meeting.
DSC members said during deliberation at the meeting that the applicant may want to ask Howard Hughes to weigh in on the matter again, as the DSC was only able to determine whether the proposal was for a warehouse use, and it could not deliberate on whether it was a “first-class” use.
Bottonari told Community Impact in an email that Regency has a signed lease with Goodwill, noting that the denial of the application means it would not be able to operate a donation drop-off at the site.
Bredehoft said a lease is not needed for a commercial application before the DSC.
A filing from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation indicates that work on a Goodwill was slated to occur at the site from August to October.
Key players
Representatives from both Goodwill and Regency Centers were at the meeting to present the plan for the shop.
Adel Karam, chief operating officer for Goodwill Houston, said the vision for the store would be a “boutique” location, much smaller than other Goodwills operating in the Houston area, and the donation center would also be much smaller, with room only for box truck deliveries. He disagreed with the characterization of the site as a warehouse use.
“We never said we’re going to warehouse or store; we depend on donations because that’s what we do,” Karam said. “We sort them, we hang them, we price them and we put it on the floor.”
Other Goodwill locations in The Woodlands area include centers on College Park Drive and Sawdust Road, as well as a location in Conroe.
Bottonari, representing Regency Centers, said the Goodwill location represents the company’s attempts to fill a former CVS space in a challenging retail environment to keep the center leased.
While leasing details were not released to the public, Bottonari told a resident at the meeting that Goodwill would be paying less for their lease than CVS was.
“In my opinion, we’ve exhausted all options for this space,” Bottonari said.
What they’re saying
During over an hour and a half of public comment, about 20 residents addressed the board with concerns about Goodwill locating in the village center. Several residents raised concerns about public safety due to the proposed location for the store, which is behind a school and walking trails. Other residents said they feared the site could attract those who would leave donations and trash after hours and speculated that it could attract loitering.
Missy Herndon, president and CEO of Interfaith of The Woodlands, said the nonprofit’s Hand Me Up retail shop at Sawdust Road—near a Goodwill store—sees challenges on a daily basis from people salvaging free items from dumpsters and leaving trash in the area.
“This is not Goodwill's fault, this is just what happens with resale stores," she said. "Donations are left outside of businesses ... every day we clean this up. ... These challenges are common in the resale space and follow, unfortunately, resale establishments,” she said.
In addition to Interfaith, residents described concerns that a Goodwill nearby could affect donations to the Something Special Store, which is operated by the Montgomery County Women’s Center
Another speaker, Jen McDonald, who said she owns a business in Alden Bridge, raised concerns about exceptions, or variances, being granted for larger entities.
“I just advocate today that we not make exceptions for larger businesses and the corporations in The Woodlands, especially if they're not your neighbor,” McDonald said.
A member of The Woodlands Township board, Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, also spoke as a resident and raised concerns regarding public safety and how a Goodwill in the area could affect small businesses.
“The idea of putting [a Goodwill] right in the heart [of The Woodlands] makes no sense. You know it doesn't. But fundamentally, it challenges small businesses that are there. I do agree that a lot of those small businesses will hurt if The Woodlands has a Goodwill drop-off right there next to it, ” Sekula-Gibbs said at the meeting.
The outlook
After public comment, the DSC—which is comprised of seven members appointed by The Woodlands Township board of directors—unanimously voted to turn down the application based on its interpretation that the Goodwill, as described, was a warehouse use.
"When you have a space this size and you bring items in and you sort, you may bring it to the front, but we heard if it doesn't sell, it's going back to the warehouse. ... That's a warehouse-type of operation,” Bredehoft said. “Whether it’s for donated items or regular retail, it’s a warehouse and it doesn’t meet the conditions of the ILUD and the general warranty deed.”
The matter will now go back to the applicant, Bredehoft said. From there, they could ask Howard Hughes for a determination on whether the Goodwill falls outside the “first-class uses” required by the general warranty deed.
The DSC meets on the first and third Wednesdays of the month.
