Goodwill Manasota opening new Manatee County location

Goodwill Manasota is opening a new location in Manatee County that it says will create jobs and provide a place in a growing area of the county for residents to donate gently used goods.

Opening June 30, the Lake Flores attended donation center will be at 8004 Cortez Road W., the former site of Ghost Street Kitchen.

The nonprofit has completely renovated the space, which is on 0.4 acre. The building contains just under 2,000 square feet, according to Manatee County property records, which show Goodwill Manasota purchased the structure for $1.11 million in March. 

Lake Flores, for which the donation center is named, is a nearby body of water within SeaFlower, a development project from Lake Flores Land Co. that when complete will bring 4,000 homes, apartments, 250 hotel rooms and 350,000 square feet of commercial space to the area.

“We chose this location because of the substantial growth in the area and the desire for a convenient place for local residents to donate their gently-used items to Goodwill,” President and CEO of Goodwill Manasota Donn Githens says in a statement. “The average donation powers more than three hours of job training, education and opportunities, directly helping our neighbors to build brighter futures.”

The Lake Flores donation center will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Opening the center will create three jobs, according to the statement from Goodwill Manasota. The nonprofit provides jobs for those with barriers to employment, such as those with disabilities, veterans and older adults, among others. In addition to employment, the organization offers job skills training, education and life and career coaching.

Goodwill Manasota spans Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, Hardee and portions of Lee and northwest Charlotte counties. In 2024, it served more than 7,000 individuals; placed 1,563 in jobs; helped 463 veterans; collected more than 234,600 pounds of food for area food banks; and diverted 98.4 million pounds from landfills, according to a statement. The organization posted $50.46 million in revenue in 2022, the most current year for which data was available.