Sembler Completes First Goodwill Superstore

(Carl Cronan is editor of Real EstateFlorida.)

ST. PETERSBURG, FL-The Sembler Co. has completed the first of three new ‘superstores’ for Goodwill Industries-Suncoast Inc. The 25,872-sf store is scheduled to open April 19 at the intersection of US 19 and Berkeley Manor Boulevard in Spring Hill, north of St. Petersburg.

David Murphy, senior vice president of development and a member of Goodwill’s local board of directors, tells GlobeSt.com that the developer charged a minimal fee for managing the expansion to cover its own overhead. “The humanitarian services and support that Goodwill provides through the operation of its successful stores is a tremendous benefit to the communities in which it operates,” Murphy says.

Goodwill, which provides jobs and training for people with disabilities and accepts donations of household goods, built the Spring Hill store as part of a $21-million retail expansion. St. Petersburg-based Sembler, which has shopping centers throughout the Southeast and Puerto Rico, was selected for its expertise in retail development.

“We are particularly pleased with the site selection for the new Goodwill Superstores, and expect the stores to be strong contributors to our mission from opening day forward,” says Debbie Passerini, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Goodwill Industries-Suncoast, also based in St. Petersburg. The agency provided services to more than 77,000 people in ten counties last year.

Two other Goodwill Superstores are planned through next year in the greater Tampa Bay area, though Murphy declined to specify where they will be built pending the issuance of permits. The Spring Hill store was designed by Tampa architects Lyman Davidson Dooley Inc., and built by Hawkins Construction of Tarpon Springs.