A change in Habitat: Store moving to a new location on East Trent

A wooden palette stacked with flooring tiles might be worth $1,000 retail, but the Habitat for Humanity Store in Spokane Valley is selling it for $100.

The Habitat Store has become known for good deals over the years.

But changes are on the way, and they are likely to benefit donors and customers, as Habitat gets ready to move into a larger space.

Habitat has purchased a 41,000-square-foot warehouse at 1805 E. Trent Ave. and is moving the Habitat store and other services to the new facility.

Habitat will close its existing store in the Spokane Industrial Park, at 3808 N. Sullivan Road, later this month. It has operated there since 2011.

The staff is no longer stocking the Sullivan Road store as it tries to close out remaining merchandise.

Sale prices are available now, but a special liquidation sale will be offered March 22 through 26, the last week that the Sullivan store will be open.

Store hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

A grand opening of the new store is set for June 1.

Donations are now being accepted at the new location on Trent.

Proceeds from the store help raise money for new Habitat homes that provide affordable housing for low-income residents in exchange for 500 hours of “sweat equity.”

“We want to make sure people can live affordably and with dignity, and the Habitat store helps us do that,” said Michelle Girardot, the chief executive officer at Habitat.

The Spokane affiliate was founded in 1987 and has built 270 homes across the area since then.

The Habitat Store has brought in enough money to pay for 40 of those homes.

Habitat is currently developing Hope Meadows at Deer Park, which will eventually have 114 homes in seven phases.

Families are able to secure an ownership piece in their homes by helping build them or doing other volunteer work for the nonprofit agency.

Habitat makes sure that families pay no more than 30 percent of their income for their homes through a zero interest mortgage, Girardot said.

The Habitat program has proven successful financially, with only a handful of foreclosures and just a 0.5 percent delinquency rate on payments, she said.

Habitat closed on the $1.34 million warehouse purchase in September with the help of a loan pool available through Habitat for Humanity of Washington State.

The new store, which was formerly occupied by Pacific Wholesale Florist, is under renovation.

Habitat offices and services, currently housed at 732 N. Napa St., will be moved to the new Trent facility, creating a significant cost savings.

“We will be able to save more money as an organization and bring more money in (through increased store sales),” said Eric Lyons, Habitat’s chief operating officer.

Originally, Habitat operated its store in a facility owned by McKinstry at Trent Avenue and Hamilton Street but moved to Spokane Valley when McKinstry expanded its operations.

Habitat’s strategic plan had called for moving the store back to Spokane. The organization decided to buy a building rather than lease space since the cost of a lease is about equal to a purchase in 10 years, Lyons said.

“It is structurally sound. It’s a great store,” he said.

The new store is close to the Goodwill Outlet Store, Catholic Charities Furniture Bank and Union Gospel Mission. It is on a bus line.

The new Habitat store is already taking donations from retailers, builders and the general public.

The floor is filling with a wide variety of items – old furniture, including antiques, power tools, appliances, doors, cabinets, furnace filters and more.

Lyons said one of the store’s missions is to provide an outlet for items that might otherwise go to landfills. It operates an extensive recycling effort.

Lisa Avila, of Kettle Falls, was a first-time shopper at the Sullivan Road store last week. “I am redoing my bathroom,” she said.

Instead of bath furnishings, she found a coffee table she thought was nicely priced at $35. Actually, the table had a 50 percent off tag, which dropped the price to $17.50.

Lyons noted the stock at the Sullivan Road store has fallen below typical levels.

“Usually, we’ll have 200 to 300 sinks at any given time,” he said.

Prices start at half off retail for new items and 75 percent off for used items.

Unsold items drop by an additional 25 percent each month.

“We want people to get a good deal,” Lyons said.

Small signs posted around the store remind customers why the store exists.

One sign reads: “27.2 percent of children in Spokane live in poverty.”

But Lyons said a key to Habitat’s success is the ongoing support it receives from the community.

“We need our community. They are the most important piece to helping us,” he said.