Nation’s first Goodwill-owned supermarket to open in NW Roanoke

Roanoke-based Goodwill Industries of the Valleys broke ground Nov. 14 on Melrose Plaza, a community hub that will be anchored by the nation’s first full-scale, full-service grocery store owned and operated by a Goodwill organization.

Slated to open in December 2024 in a Northwest Roanoke food desert, the 25,000-square-foot Market on Melrose is expected to create 50 to 60 jobs and will offer online ordering, curbside pickup and delivery options.

It’s part of a $30 million project to repurpose Goodwill’s Roanoke Jobs Campus headquarters at 2502 Melrose Ave. into the 79,000-square-foot Melrose Plaza, which will also house Goodwill’s Excel Center, a tuition-free adult high school offering certifications and high school diplomas. Plaza tenants will include an existing public library branch, a holistic community wellness center and a Bank of Botetourt center that will provide retail banking and financial coaching.

“While efforts for a grocery store have been ongoing for many years now, the timing couldn’t be better,” explains Mindy Boyd, chief operating officer for Goodwill Industries of the Valleys. “Federal ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] funds awarded to the City of Roanoke afforded a $10 million grant to uplift a grocery in a food desert. With our renewed mission and vision, the well-located property available, and a grant from the city, it made it a complete win for the community.”

Kjellstrom + Lee is the construction management partner for Melrose Plaza. In addition to the $10 million in federal funding, the project has an $8 million in-kind real estate donation from Goodwill. Another $12 million is anticipated to come from the federal New Market Tax Credits Program, additional public funding, grant opportunities and private contributions.

Goodwill Industries of the Valleys is partnering with the City of Roanoke and other stakeholders on Melrose Plaza. The nonprofit Goodwill will own and operate Melrose Plaza and Market on Melrose. The grocery store will be the first phase of the project to open.

The partnership, says Roanoke City Manager Bob Cowell, “will deliver exactly what the Northwest neighborhood has long advocated for and needed, fulfills a key priority of the mayor and City Council [and] implements the top priority identified by the citizen advisory board established to aid the council in their use of federal COVID relief.”