The fundraising arm for Habitat for Humanity has relocated to Langford — and brought a few home reno bargains with it.

The non-profit ReStore, run largely by volunteers, raises money for HFH through selling donated home renovation supplies. Shelving in the 6,000-square-foot warehouse on Orono Avenue is still a work in progress, but the store is open, said manager Dan Ludvigson.

“This is a huge improvement on the old store,” Ludvigson said. “Being here we will dramatically increase the amount of money we raise for Habitat for Humanity.”

ReStore moved from Douglas Street to Langford in July and quietly opened in August, bringing with it donated cabinets, counters, plumbing fixtures, paints and other supplies. The store can’t accept drywall and isn’t yet set up to accept lumber, he noted.

“Basically we accept anything to do with home renovation supplies and tools,” he said. “If you need to reno or build a house, we usually have it.”

ReStore operates with about three paid employees and so far has about 15 volunteers although ideally it would have 30 to 40, said volunteer co-ordinator Jennifer Paulus.

HFH Victoria has built 11 homes in Greater Victoria and has five more townhomes underway in Saanich, near Blanshard Street and Bethune Avenue. The society is working on buying land in two more locations in Saanich and one in View Royal, said Patti Sullivan, executive director for HFH Victoria.

Moving to a larger store in Langford is key to ramping up development to at least 10 homes per year, she said. As seen from other ReStores in North America, there is a direct correlation to store size and the amount of funding generated to build homes, she added.

“The only goal is to generate more revenue to build more houses,” Sullivan said. “We’ve already done better here than the old store and we’ve only been here a month.”

HFH homes are typically built with donated labour and materials and in partnership with a qualifying family, who put in at least 500 hours of “sweat equity.”

“It’s a home ownership program, not a subsidized housing program,” she said.

Sullivan stressed that ReStore’s bread-and-butter is donated goods, but it can’t act as a drop off for junk or hazardous materials.

“What we can’t sell becomes a cost to us, leaving less money for housing,” she said. “And we are in a community now and want to be good neighbours.”

ReStore is at 849 Orono Ave. To donate, volunteer or for more information, see www.habitatvictoria.com.

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