Converting things from trash to treasure at Habitat store
Jean Lotus — January 25, 2016
Marcus Hayes, operations manager at ReStore Chicago shows off bathroom fixtures at the discount construction recycling store. (Photo by Jean Lotus/Chronicle Media)
Habitat for Humanity discount home improvement and recycling store celebrates first year in Chicago
You might find a used vintage bathtub at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore at 6040 N. Pulaski Road in Chicago, or you might find a window air conditioner or some kitchen cabinets.
The “home improvement discount store and donation center” is a place to find new and gently used construction materials, furniture, appliances and tools.
“Think of us like Goodwill meets Home Depot,” said ReStore Director Deanna Davies.
The 29,000 square-foot shop consists of three connected buildings. Customers can find lamps, electrical parts, tile, plumbing supplies, windows and doors, lumber, gardening supplies and insulating materials. Last week, the store featured a dozen washer-dryer combination units for $200 each that had been removed from an apartment building and refurbished.
“I came in here looking for drawer-slides and I found them,” said repeat-customer Jude Gonzales, shopping with his daughter. “I own a home, so I have to fix things on an ongoing basis,” he said. “You have to have a running list of projects. We found lots of things here.”
The ReStore concept was created to accept and distribute construction donations and keep construction materials out of landfills.
“In Canada there was a Habitat affiliate that was getting all this stuff donated, an extra window here, a door there,” Davies said.
Local Habitat for Humanity affiliates run around 850 ReStores nationwide. The Chicago ReStore was created as a partnership with the Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley, which has run a ReStore in Elgin for 10 years, Davies said.
During its first year in operation, ReStore Chicago claims to have diverted 964,600 pounds of usable material from local landfills, the organization said in a press release.
Artwork created with recycled construction materials hangs in the Chicago ReStore. (Photo by Jean Lotus/Chronicle Media)
The store inventory is priced to move, at about 50-60 percent of retail price, said Marcus Hayes, store manager.
“We have some pretty high-end donors who are donating materials,” Hayes said, pointing out a set of vintage 84-inch oak doors removed from a construction project in Lincoln Park.
The store also gets corporate donations of new products.
“Dow donates blue outdoor insulation board for all Habitat homes,” Hayes said, pointing to a pallet of foam boards used between the frame of a house and siding. “That’s why Habitat homes are extremely heat-efficient.”
The Chicago ReStore also has a partnership with Whirlpool appliances to sell large appliances such as washers, dryers, refrigerators and dishwashers that have been scratched, dented or refurbished, Hayes said.
The Chicago ReStore received a gift of all the new construction materials used at the True Value and Ace Hardware trade shows at McCormick place last year, Hayes said. Jewel Food stores donated warehouse space to hold the materials.
Volunteers work in the shop, pricing, testing and cleaning donations. Sometimes volunteers post interesting items on online buying sites Diggerslist.com and Craigslist, Hayes said.
“We’re hoping to get people in the store,” Hayes said. “Our inventory changes every day.”
ReStore will even pick up large items such as kitchen cabinets or tubs.
“We are trying to prioritize reuse and diversion from the landfill,” Hayes said.
Habitat for Humanity Chicago has built 95 homes to date, serving 206 families and engaging 4,500 volunteers per year, according to their press materials.
Habitat Chicago is currently building 16 new homes at 119th Street and South Union Avenue in Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood.
Qualifying families donate 250 hours of volunteer “sweat equity” construction time to build their new home and the homes of neighbors. New owners complete homeowner education classes and get a zero-interest, no-profit mortgage on the house.
As another example of recycling, homeowner mortgage payments are recycled back into the costs of the next Habitat for Humanity home, according to literature.
The Re-Store shop is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
To volunteer at the store or arrange a pickup of construction materials, call (773) 539-6040 or visit ReStoreChicago.org.
— Trash to treasure —
