After nearly three years of planning, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga is set to begin an extensive renovation and expansion of its ReStore facility on Main Street, with the goal of it being the first LEED Certified ReStore facility in North America.
Mayor Ron Littlefield, other local officials, Habitat volunteers, staff and friends will gather at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 12, at the 1201 East Main Street in Chattanooga, for a ground breaking ceremony to mark the start of an $800,000 renovation and expansion of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga’s ReStore.
The ReStore is a resale operation that focuses most of its attention on building materials.
“By providing the community the option to donate materials for reuse instead of sending them to the landfill, we are able to make materials available to the public at modest cost, while supporting Habitat’s work,” said Tina Shaw Cox, director of Restore Operations with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga. “This is a win-win for all concerned.”
After nearly seven years, the ReStore has outgrown its location just behind Habitat’s office at 1201 East Main Street.
“In thinking about next steps for the ReStore we have chosen to reduce our costs by recycling as much of our existing building as possible, while expanding it,” said Ms. Cox.
Over the next six to eight months, the current ReStore location will be transformed, using a design by local architect Thomas Palmer of Palmer Built Environments. The general contractor for the project is The Strauss Company. The completed building will include 4,500 additional square feet of space, as well as advanced technology to make the building as energy efficient as possible.
“Stewardship of the environment as well as community resources is important to Habitat for Humanity,” said Ms. Cox. “In thinking about the ReStore, we want it to generate as much support for Habitat as possible. One way to do that is to incorporate advanced energy technology into the renovation of the store. When complete, the ReStore will be lighted by a mix of daylight and LED lighting and heated and cooled by a variable refrigerant heating and cooling system thanks to EPRI and TVA. Special insulation methods will help lower utility costs, as will a rainwater collection system.”
All of these changes will make the project eligible for LEED Certification, and will lower operating costs and the environmental footprint of the ReStore building.
“We believe that this project will be the first LEED certified ReStore facility in North America,” said Ms. Cox. “We hope that it will encourage other Habitat for Humanity affiliates to incorporate advanced green building technology as they develop their ReStore programs.”
Support for the reconstruction of the ReStore has been raised through a community-wide campaign chaired by Scott and Lisa Maclellan. Support has been provided by the Robert and Kathrina Maclellan Foundation, the Lyndhurst Foundation, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, the Tucker Foundation as well as many individuals.
“So far we have raised $600,000, but an additional $200,000 is still needed to complete the project,” said Ms. Cox. “If you are interested in helping complete this important community effort, we would greatly appreciate your support. Donations may be sent to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga, 1201 East Main Street, Chattanooga, TN 37408, or you can reach me at 756-0507, Ext. 20 for more information.”
While construction is underway, the ReStore will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays at its temporary location at 3126 Alton Park Blvd. in Chattanooga.
For more information, or to schedule a donation pickup, please call 634-1004.