CRESSONA - Goodwill Keystone Area has leased 11,034 square feet of space at the Cressona Mall.
A building permit for demolition work was issued July 9. Cash registers, four fitting rooms and rest rooms were among the areas shown on a site plan Wednesday.
"It's going to be a beautiful store. It's going to be great for the mall," Craig Jaffey, property manager for Dack Realty, Claymont, Del., said of the lease agreement Tuesday.
Dack Realty manages the mall, which is owned by Cressona Associates L.P.
Goodwill previously had a space at the mall. Cynthia Huntsinger, mall manager, said she was "excited" about the company coming to the mall.
"They will certainly be an asset to the mall," she said.
Jaffey said the six-year lease was signed in June.
The space being leased is part of the former CVS at the mall. Mike DeAngelis, director of public relations for CVS, said previously that the store in the mall opened in March 1991. Its current location opened in October 2010.
Jaffey did not know when the company will move into the mall.
"I would say by two months they should be open," but that could change, he said.
Goodwill collects and sells donated items in more than 30 stores in central southeastern Pennsylvania, according to its website, www.yourgoodwill.org. It also provides business services such as document shredding, laser cartridge remanufacturing, custodial, packaging and assembly to government and businesses, according to its website. Those proceeds fund job training and employment programs.
On Wednesday, Jesse Snyder, an electrician from West End Electric Inc., Hegins, used a reciprocating saw to cut pieces of pipe in the floor. He arrived on site at 9 a.m. and planned to stay until 3 p.m.
A tweet on the Bennett Williams Realty Inc. website, www.bennettwilliams.com, said 11,034 square feet of space was leased at the mall.
Jennifer Ross, senior director of marketing and public relations for Goodwill Keystone Area, did not return calls for comment.
Locally, Goodwill Keystone Area has a location in Pottsville at 1. S. Second St. It was previously located at 91 S. Progress Ave., but moved after the building was sold.
Laser cartridge remanufacturing is done at the Second Street location.
Huntsinger said she thought the laser cartridge remanufacturing would relocate to the Cressona site also but could not be certain.
Tenants and shoppers at the Cressona Mall said the addition of the store will be welcomed.
"I think that's a good idea," said Kathy Thomas, 60, of Auburn, while she was shopping in the mall Wednesday, adding that it might help to "promote business" in the mall.
Carol Hamilton, assistant manager at Sam's Place, a lottery and tobacco store in the mall, almost could not contain her excitement. Sam's Place has been at the mall since 1986, she said.
"We're excited that there's something new coming in to attract people to our mall to give it new life," Hamilton said.