A nondescript building in northwest Lawrence is about to turn into a gold mine for bargain hunters wanting to fix up their homes.

The Habitat ReStore, which will sell used building supplies to raise money for Lawrence Habitat for Humanity, should be open by the end of the month at 800 Comet Lane.

A collection of cabinets, doors, windows, toilets, bathtubs and other supplies is already building up at the site.

“We never know what we’re going to have here,” said K.H. Harris, store manager.

The Habitat ReStore models about 300 other resale stores across the country, Harris said. The local Habitat chapter is hoping to raise enough money with the store to build an additional two houses a year. The group currently builds four a year.

One benefit of a facility like Habitat ReStore, 800 Comet Lane, is its ability to reduce the amount of household items that end up in landfills. K.H. Harris, manager, said the store would take any items in good,

“They’ve been real successful in a lot of places,” said Jerry Feese, who is the chairman of the Habitat ReStore committee. “That’s something we’ll have to see when we open, how much money we actually will generate.”

Habitat for Humanity is a predominately volunteer organization that builds homes for low-income residents. The new homeowners are required to help build the houses and pay a mortgage with no interest.

Donations already have been pouring in to the 4,500-square-foot warehouse. Some have come from retail businesses, but Harris said she’s expecting many donations to come from contractors who remove fixtures from houses.

Instead of paying a fee to discard the items in the landfill, Harris said, many contractors prefer to make a tax-deductible donation to Habitat for Humanity.

She said she was expecting a variety of customers.

“The experience of ‘ReStores’ across the country is landlords are actually the largest client base,” she said. “Small contractors also will come in. We hope low-income homeowners will be able to keep their houses up without paying a lot to do it.”

Items are typically sold for about half of retail value. For instance, a nearly new kitchen cabinet set that originally sold for $2,400 will be priced at between $1,000 and $1,200, Harris said.

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The program also will be good for the environment, keeping items out of the landfill. Because of that environmental benefit, Habitat for Humanity received a $50,000 grant from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to get the store going.

“It will hopefully keep a lot of stuff out of the landfill,” Feese said.

No opening date has been set. When renovations are complete, the store will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Hours may be expanded if there is a demand.

Harris said she thought there would be a lot of interest in the store.

“As long as it’s in good, usable condition, we’ll take it,” she said. “The criteria we’re telling people is if it’s good enough for them to use in their house, it’ll be good enough to sell here.”