Habitat for Humanity Tucson’s HabiStore may not be the first business you think of when searching for a home improvement megastore.
The 18,000-square-foot building on Grant and Fairview mainly serves as a donation center for surplus or reusable building materials that go toward helping Habitat for Humanity’s volunteers build affordable housing for low-income families.
But it also operates as a retail outlet, selling a lot of the donated stuff the builders don’t use — furniture, appliances, building materials, tools and hardware — at discounted prices. Those funds are then used to finance the nonprofit’s work.
While not exactly a Home Depot or Lowe’s, the HabiStore, along with other community-supported do-it-yourself centers, is where America’s home improvement boom, already waning for the megastores, is sending some welcome aftershocks.
“When the lockdown happened in 2020, everybody was at home and suddenly home projects became a priority,” said Tanna Johnson, the Tucson affiliate’s