Trotwood Goodwill community center moves forward after tax credit delay

Construction on new facility began this week; project should be finished before end of 2022
Rendering of Goodwill Easter Seals' planned Trotwood facility. Groundbreaking was Oct. 28, 2021. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Rendering of Goodwill Easter Seals' planned Trotwood facility. Groundbreaking was Oct. 28, 2021. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

TROTWOOD — Construction officially began last week on Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley’s community center in Trotwood, after a delay in allocation of federal tax credits had caused a setback.

The West Campus Community Center project was awarded $8 million in new market tax credits through the Dayton Region New Market Fund. Lance Detrick, Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley CEO, said the tax credits will be sold to an investor, drawing a net total of $1.3 million in funding, all of which will go toward the total cost of the Trotwood project.

“The project is beneficial and exciting for the city of Trotwood because it will create new jobs, provide job training, job placement, and serve persons with developmental disabilities,” said Trotwood city manager Quincy Pope. “Therefore, the new market tax credits help provide services the community did not otherwise have inside of the community.”

The new West Campus center will be located in the 800 block of East Main Street in Trotwood, next to the new Dayton Metro Library branch.

Groundbreaking for the 22,000-square-foot facility was held in October 2021, and construction was expected to immediately follow. Now that the tax credit issue is resolved, barring any additional unanticipated delays, the project should be completed by the end of 2022, Detrick said.

The West Campus center will provide employment programs, community outreach programs, programs for individuals living in poverty, skills training/certification programs, senior adult services, behavioral health services, developmental disability services, an adult day support program, and a free car seat program.

Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley is also partnering with the Miami Valley Child Development Center on this project to provide early childhood education options at the West Campus location.

Along with the $1.3 million provided from the new market tax credits, funding for the $8 million project includes $1.5 million from private donations, a $1.4 million loan, and $3.5 million from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s donation, with Goodwill operating funds covering the remaining balance.

“We are happy to fund this project that will enable Goodwill to expand critical services in the Trotwood and West Dayton communities,” said CityWide Development Corporation President Brian Heitkamp.

The Trotwood campus is the second Goodwill project to receive new market tax credits, Heitkamp said, with the Goodwill Easter Seals Human Service Center in downtown Dayton having been provided a $16 million investment in 2013.

According to Pope, the NMTC will help subsidize capital needs related to the Goodwill Easterseal’s Miami Valley West Campus Community Center project.

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