MOUNT VERNON — Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore has found a new home in downtown Mount Vernon, opening the doors to a larger, more accessible facility that will serve as both a retail space and a hub for community growth.

Habitat For Humanity ReStore celebrated its grand opening Friday adding new features for the nonprofit.

Habitat for Humanity purchased the property at 405 West Chestnut St. from the Knox County Land Bank.

According to Knox County Auditor’s records, Habitat For Humanity purchased the building on Sept. 27 for $900,000.

The roughly 32,000-square-foot facility will house the ReStore, office space for nonprofits and community educational opportunities, Habitat for Humanity board president Jeremy Abrams said.

The new facility is “more than double” the size of the former ReStore located at Wooster Road, Abrams said. The expansive space will allow for more equipment, furniture, building materials and more storage.

Sustainability and accessibility

At Friday’s ribbon cutting, Mount Vernon Mayor Matt Starr recounted a time in 2010 when Habitat For Humanity came to his house off Chestnut Street to take down his wooded fence after a storm went through the area, knowing the wood could be used for another homeowner.

“Doing the things that rebuild the community and keep us going is incredibly important,” Starr said. “It is one of the facets of sustainability that’s very important to the city of Mount Vernon.”

Habitat for Humanity executive director Terry Schulz said the move to downtown Mount Vernon has been nearly four years in the making.

“We wanted to bring the ReStore back to the heart of Mount Vernon and where it was easily accessible for everyone,” Schulz said.

“We think with the wonderful developments in the neighborhood here that Habitat is going to be a hub for continued growth of downtown and the entire county.”

Schulz thanked Habitat volunteers who worked over 1,500 hours, some of which were spent making sure the building was ready for public use.

“Much of that was our volunteers in the ReStore every single day working tirelessly to get this store ready for you all,” Schulz said.

With those extended volunteer hours, Abrams said this headquarters for Habitat for Humanity will make lasting contributions to those in need.

“Everything that you do here contributes to someone else’s home getting built, to someone else’s repair project getting done, to a ramp being built on somebody’s home who otherwise can’t access the outside world,” Abrams said.

“Every cent we make goes toward putting and keeping people in homes,” Abrams said.

Habitat for Humanity ReStore is open from Wednesday to Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Correction: The 405 West Chestnut was owned by the Knox County Land Bank, not the Area Development Foundation.