“Goodwill Easter Seals was founded in 1934 and has been in the city of Dayton since day one,” Amy Luttrell, president and CEO of Goodwill Easter Seals said. “We are eager to relocate to an area that is more accessible to the people who need us most.”
A groundbreaking for the Community Services Center is scheduled for 10 a.m. on August 27. Construction is expected to take one year.
The agency has had its headquarters at 1511 Kuntz Road since 1979 when it served 423 people per year. In 2012, Goodwill Easter Seals served more than 13,000 people. The increased space will enable the agency to serve 72 percent more people than it did in 2012.
Seven buildings at the northeast corner of Main and Lincoln streets have been demolished over the past nine months to make room for the new 100,000 square-foot facility. A $2 million Clean Ohio grant provided the funding for the demolition, remediation and site preparation.
The project includes renovation of a 5,000-square foot, circa 1900-era building that will reopen as the Miracle Clubhouse, a community where people living with persistent mental illness come to rebuild their lives. The structure, formerly an apartment building, was constructed in the Mission Revival Style.
Goodwill Easter Seals employs 1,100 people, 50 percent of whom have a disability. The agency plans to add a minimum of 50 new jobs over the next five years in the areas of social work and support services. Some of the agency’s 40 programs include occupational skills training, vision services, business skills training, deaf and hard-of-hearing services.
Currently, about 60 percent of the Kuntz Road building is used as warehouse and distribution space. This operation will move to the organization’s Woodman Drive facility, when the program and administrative functions relocate to the new Community Services Campus.
Dayton-based, Moda4 Design is the architect on the project. Ferguson Construction was awarded the construction contract.
About the Author