The place where you found the perfect ugly Christmas sweater has big plans for 2026. Goodwill Silicon Valley is developing a one-of-a-kind nonprofit supercenter in a former office tower next to the San Jose Mineta International Airport.
The purchase of the eight-story, 200,000-square-foot building at 1600 Technology Drive was made possible by a surprise $10 million gift from MacKenzie Scott, the philanthropist once married to Jeff Bezos. That, plus widespread commercial market distress, allowed Goodwill to acquire the property for its new HQ last year for $17 million — a nearly 80% discount from the 2012 sale price.
Scott’s donation, just a fraction of the more than $4 billion she gifted to nonprofits at the end of 2020, is the largest in the organization’s history. Goodwill invested and grew the funds over the last few years, putting it in the perfect position to pounce on the 2024 debt sale on the defaulted property, which was built in 2001.
“It was very opportune,” Goodwill of Silicon Valley CEO Christopher Baker said. “It’s something that just came up, and really, it was almost like overnight we purchased the building.”
But owning a building that had been “mothballed” for years came with considerable challenges. The nonprofit took possession in January, but the majority of its staff were unable to move in until this month.
“It’s been a huge learning curve,” Baker said. “It’s taken us 11 months to understand all the repairs that are needed.”
Extensive repairs took most of the year, and administrative staff just moved in this month. | Source: Courtesy Goodwill Silicon Valley
Among those repairs were about $5 million worth of work to the HVAC and lighting systems. Though the work was not pro bono, San Jose-based Jordan Electric employed some of Goodwill’s electrician training participants, providing them with valuable job experience. One trainee ended up getting a full-time position with the company. As Goodwill continues building out the project, Baker would like to form similar partnerships with other vendors.
After all, partnership is the goal at the new HQ, which Baker hopes to fill with other complementary nonprofits offering a mix of housing, career, and child-care services. The nonprofits are being offered leases at discounted rates, and the office spaces come fully furnished. Baker estimates that about $500,000 worth of desks, cubicles, and monitors were donated by Silicon Valley tech companies.
This week, Fremont-based homeless aid nonprofit Abode Services signed a five-year lease, becoming the first outside tenant to officially come aboard. The agency will occupy the entire 17,300-square-foot second floor. Other groups are negotiating lease terms and will be announced in the coming months.
“We embrace Goodwill’s vision to transform the space into a hub for local nonprofits to share ideas and fulfill their collective missions in a spirit of cooperation,” Abode CEO Vivian Wan said in a statement. “We look forward to being the first — but certainly not the last — nonprofit agency to benefit from this innovative new building.”
Goodwill recently rented the entire second floor to a homelessness non-profit. | Source: Courtesy Goodwill Silicon Valley
Goodwill is not the only nontraditional landlord to capitalize on the commercial downturn in the South Bay. In May, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority paid half price for a 17-story Almaden Crossing tower. One month later, the private Girls’ Middle School bought a 32,500-square-foot office building in Palo Alto, with plans to transform it into a campus.
Other Goodwill branches across the country have created similar all-in-one “opportunity centers,” Baker said, but to his knowledge, none have repurposed a midrise office tower to do so.
“I’m not aware of a building quite this size,” he said. “I think this is pretty unique.”
The Scott gift also allowed Goodwill to hold onto its former HQ, which has two warehouses on North Seventh Street. The 16-acre site will undergo its own renovations, with a focus on sustainability. The plans include replacing one 75-year-old warehouse with a state-of-the-art facility to improve efficiency and enhance the environmental impact of Goodwill’s reuse and recycling operations.
The organization diverts 80% of its donations from landfills, which translates to around 35 million pounds a year. Its goal is to achieve “zero waste,” defined as diverting 90%.
Curated holiday sections help move seasonal merchandise, keeping 80% of donations out of landfills. | Source: Courtesy Goodwill Silicon Valley
Baker is hoping that the Gen Z emphasis on vintage and upcycled clothing will help it reach that goal. The organization is already on Whatnot, a livestreaming shopping app, and has partnered with influencers. It plans to expand its social media presence in the new year and create photo opportunity spots in stores for thrifters to showcase their finds.
“There’s nothing better than word of mouth or social media to really share across the community here what we’re doing,” Baker said. “We need to engage with them.”
With the new building open, Goodwill plans to expand its job training programs, which include classes for careers in clean energy or as medical technicians. Baker says these programs will provide more life-changing opportunities than just giving someone a job behind the counter in one of Goodwill’s shops.
“We’re looking at getting people into careers that will sustain them and their families for the future,” he said.