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State stores fill need with places for low-cost building materials While construction material thrift stores are springing up around the U.S., they aren't entirely new to Wisconsin. Madison has Habitat ReStore, Milwaukee has HomeSource and may soon have another, Community Warehouse Inc. Plans for other discount building supply ventures reportedly are under way in the La Crosse and Fox River Valley areas. Like many others springing up around the U.S., these stores sell used and surplus building materials. Merchandise is priced 50% or more below retail value, and profit isn't the only goal. Other purposes vary with the operators: to give budget-strapped homeowners a break, raise funds for a cause, help the environment or reduce joblessness. "I saw a need to end all the construction waste. Our place puts a dent in the flow of usable materials going to dumps because contractors have no space to store it," said Jen Voichick, director of Habitat ReStore in Madison. Habitat for Humanity of Dane County Inc. started and owns Habitat ReStore. Since its September 2001 opening, the operation at 208 Cottage Grove Road has diverted about 716 tons of materials that otherwise would have gone to landfills, manager Woody Osborne said. Voichick, a carpenter who was sidelined by injury in 2000, proposed the idea of Habitat officials. She said the operation raised enough money in its first year to fund the building of one Habitat house and two its second. "We use what materials we can in Habitat operations and sell the rest to the public," she said. "Anyone can shop here. Voichick, who is working with Habitat affiliates in the Fox River Valley and La Crosse areas to develop Habitat ReStores, said there are more than 120 Habitat ReStores in the country. Madison's Habitat ReStore has a staff of three paid full-timers and 80 volunteer part-timers. The warehouse accepts flooring, lumber, doors, insulated windows, drywall, plumbing supplies, light fixtures and kitchen cabinetry, Voichick said. Habitat ReStore's Osborne said he once received seven brand-new windows, which were used for just one week before the owners found them unsatisfactory. "They must have cost $10,000. I was stunned," Osborne said. Milwaukee's HomeSource, 3701 W. Lisbon Ave., was launched in 1994 to assist modest-income neighborhood residents and their community group, Lisbon Avenue Neighborhood Development Corp., director Toni Spears said. HomeSource accepts donations of new and gently used building materials for resale to Milwaukee residents whose household income is 50% or less of county median and who provide photo proof of identity, Spears said. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development lists Milwaukee County's median family income this year as $62,600. "We've helped the neighborhood, provided employment for area youth and raised money" for their founding community group, Spears said. "We're social entrepreneurs." Milwaukee businessman George Bogdanovich would like to do the same. For a year, he's been lining up donations and warehouse space for Community Warehouse Inc. The chief executive officer of Legal Placement Services Inc., 740 N. Plankinton Ave., who from 1992 to 2002 was chief operating officer at Rock Transfer and Storage Inc., envisions a building materials warehouse accessible to, and affordable for, central city residents. "What does the central city want? Porch materials, windows and doors. But right now, they have to go pretty far to get them. And if you don't have a car, what do you do? Community Warehouse will be in the heart of the city," Bogdanovich said. Bogdanovich, who said he is backed by eight business partners and nearly 400 construction industry donors, said his idea infuses social service with business acumen. His pitch to the business world: Your donation may be worth twice its face value as a federal income tax deduction. His pitch to the neighborhood: Once the operation stabilizes, it will be run by staffers hired from the neighborhood. Take Part Where to find used and surplus building materials in Wisconsin:
Credit: mderus@journalsentinel.com |