After only five years at its original location, the Habitat for Humanity Capital District ReStore has outgrown its home on North Pearl Street in Albany and will be opening new, much larger doors on Fuller Road this month.
The ReStore warehouse, which sells low-priced furniture and home appliances to help raise money to build affordable homes through Habitat for Humanity Capital District, is one of 180 in the country. The 10,000-square-foot warehouse at 454 North Pearl St. began to overflow with donations, and when the store hit the $500,000 mark this past year, Manager Dave Harrison knew it was time to find a new location. Now, volunteers and staff members are working hard to convert a former lumber warehouse into 24,000 square feet of retail space by mid-August.
“We knew it was time,” Harrison said. “This building came available and seemed like a perfect fit.”
The new space will offer several changes over the other store. Besides being more than double in size, the new location at 70 Fuller Road will provide more curb appeal and drive-by traffic since it is near Central and Western avenues, as well as more parking. Harrison added that the location is all around safer, as many customers didn’t necessarily feel comfortable traveling to the North Pearl store.
The ReStore, which depends about 90 percent on donations, takes in products like furniture, kitchen appliances, cabinets and building materials. Furniture, Harrison said, makes up about 40 percent of the sales.
“We don’t take just anything. It has to be functional, still structurally sound and in fair-to-good condition at the minimum,” Harrison said.
Harrison said unlike the older location, the ReStore at Fuller Road will be offering some new products, including Valspar Paint.
“There are organizations out there that just believe in the Habitat mission and provided (products) to us at a lower cost,” Harrison said.
The store is open to the public, with customers and donators range from people moving to downsizers and college students. Because of donations, products change from week to week and can often include well-known names like Stickley or custom-made cabinets.
“We have a pretty dedicated customer base that makes it a habit of checking in once, twice a week. Some of them are just people looking for an unusual find or a super bargain,” Harrison said.
Everything in the store is at a very low price, Harrison said. Products that are new typically run for 50 percent of the retail price, while products that are in excellent condition but used, run for 25 percent of the retail price.
“You’re really looking at some good bargains,” Harrison said.
Every dollar made at the ReStore goes directly to the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate. The money raised helps build the affordable housing Habitat for Humanity is known for. Since 2009, Harrison said the ReStore has raised about $2 million for Habitat for Humanity Capital District.
However, Harrison said the products sold at ReStore won’t be used in the houses built with Habitat for Humanity.
“We sell this product to make money to buy new product. It’s easier to build with,” Harrison said.
While the store isn’t officially open yet, donations are already starting to pile in. Harrison said they normally have two to four truckloads of donations a day, five days a week, including drop offs.
“There’s never a lull,” Harrison said.
Several volunteers from local organizations, including Youthbuild Albany and Home Helpers Co-Op, are currently helping to set up the new store, including George Bartlett. As the owner of Home Helpers Co-Op, which helps low-income and seniors keep their homes in working order, Bartlett said he frequently shops at the ReStore looking for products.
“I love the new place. I think it’s going to offer a lot more products,” Bartlett said. “It’ll be much better. Things like this are amazing.”
While they’re excited to open up the new store, Harrison said he could see Habitat outgrowing this location in just the same amount of time as the last.
“We’ll see what happens then. We’re very optimistic about this location and our goal has always been to make $1 million a year,” Harrison said.