The Phoenix Resale Shop will soon have a new home.
The V.I. Legislature approved a 50-year lease agreement with The Safety Zone, St. John’s only victims’ advocacy agency, for a building to house their second-hand store, the Phoenix.
The building is a wooden structure located around the corner from St. Ursula’s church, near the St. John Inn.
The store offers new and gently used clothing and accessories, housewares and electronics and all of the proceeds go to directly to The Safety Zone.
Utilizing Donations
“The shop was created to utilize donations that we received and funds from there support the operations of the agency,” said Shelley Williams, The Safety Zone’s assistant director in charge of finance and compliance.
“In addition, the store provides a source of quality used merchandise at a fractional price to the community and provides donors an opportunity to contribute to The Safety Zone.”
Previously located behind Santo’s Laundry, the Phoenix has been temporarily operated out of the agency’s Lumber Yard complex office. Soon it will be located in a building of its own — but not until extensive renovations are completed.
“The building is not in good shape and we are really just getting information now,” said Terri Lamb, a board member of the agency in charge of day to day operations at the Phoenix. “We have to have a board meeting and a fact finding mission to see exactly what condition the building is in.”
Task Force
“We’ll create a task force to decide what approach to take — whether we should try to fund raise or take another route like asking for volunteers and labor,” Lamb continued.
The Safety Zone officials will announce their plans in the future and are certain to get plenty of help from the community.
“People have really shown us terrific support and we hope they come through for us again,” said Lamb.
The timetable for relocation depends entirely on the extent of renovation, according to Williams.
“While we hope to be in there soon, when we move will depend on how quickly we can finish the renovations,” Williams said.
In the meantime, stop by the Phoenix’s temporary location at The Safety Zone’s office on the second floor of the Lumber Yard complex, above St. John Ice. The store is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
