As part of a national initiative, Starbucks will open a new location in Dallas at the Red Bird Mall in spring 2018. Starbucks will join the ongoing redevelopment of the Red Bird mall with a unique new store aimed at creating economic opportunities.

Those include hiring locally, providing in-store training opportunities for youth, and working with local minority-owned businesses.

Red Bird joins six other similar Starbucks stores in Ferguson, Missouri; central Phoenix; the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens; Englewood in Chicago’s Southside; East Baltimore; and Long Beach, California. Another will open in Trenton, New Jersey, in 2017.

The coffee company has undertaken a national initiative to invest in at least 15 underserved communities across the U.S. by 2018, demonstrating that long-term investment can help drive opportunities for Starbucks business and the community.

Starbucks plans to work with local women- and minority-owned contractors for the construction of the Red Bird store, and is evaluating minority-owned suppliers in southern Dallas for a locally sourced product to feature in the cafe.

The company hopes the new store will help spotlight local businesses, support their growth, and invest in the community.

Starbucks' regional vice president, Traci York, says that the opening represents an opportunity to reach new customers and part of a local solution for social change.

"While parts of southern Dallas continue to lack economic opportunity, there is a robust potential customer base, and a strong business and community-led movement underway to revitalize those parts of the area that need it most," York says in a release. "We want to be a part of this effort, and show that with meaningful investment and a creative business model that reflects the needs of the community, we can create the kinds of economic opportunities that have the potential to generate long-term impact."

The Red Bird Starbucks will also be the first in the Dallas metropolitan area to have a unique in-store training space. Working with a local nonprofit, Starbucks will provide southern Dallas youth the opportunity to take part in a free multiweek job-skills training program — based on Starbucks' own renowned customer service curriculum.

When trainings are not in session, the room will be available for local groups to use for meetings and dialog, serving as a hub for members of the community.

For Starbucks, the store at Red Bird marks an important milestone in a series of initiatives the company is championing to create greater economic opportunities for young people in Dallas. An estimated 13 percent of youth in the DFW area are unemployed, a challenge compounded in southern Dallas where 25 percent are not in school or employed.

Red Bird owner Peter Brodsky says that the Starbucks is an ideal partner, stating, "this Starbucks store represents exactly what we are trying to accomplish at Red Bird, by providing a high-quality amenity to southern Dallas residents and simultaneously investing in the community to make a difference."