Future of the long-closed Habitat for Humanity ReStore: What to know

Jeff Smith, Corning Leader
Updated ·2 min read

The Steuben County Habitat for Humanity ReStore, closed for months since being devastated by a mid-July fire, will hold a sale Sept. 30 in its state Route 414 parking lot.

Joy Overacker, a Habitat for Humanity spokesperson, said the sale will be of items the Restore staff was able to salvage from the fire, and will run from 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. The ReStore is open for donations Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

“We’ll be selling things at a discount that were affected by the smoke from the fire,” Overacker said. “The sale will include everything from household goods to construction materials to furniture.”

Overacker said the ReStore sale will include lots of tables and chairs and other items they were able to salvage.

"We have a little bit of just about everything," Overacker said.

A look at the closed Habitat for Humanity ReStore
A look at the closed Habitat for Humanity ReStore

Demolition and remediation expected to begin soon

Demolition of the damaged section of the state 414 Restore building could begin as early as next week.

“We’re still going through the insurance process,” Overacker said. “We've chosen somebody to do the demo and remediation and we're working with the insurance company.”

More: A fire destroyed a NY donation center in July: What will happen to Corning ReStore

The demolition and remediation will take about a month to complete once the work is underway.

"The remediation is really going to be the thing that takes the longest," Overacker said. "We have to replace much of the ceiling in the building that didn't get burned next to the portion being demoed."

The future of the Corning ReStore

Overacker said the decision whether to rebuild or move to another location has not yet been completed.

“We are definitely doing one or the other,” Overacker said. “Finding a place to move to has been difficult and we are exploring options as far as relocating or we will rebuild at the current location. That decision has not yet been made.”

The fire broke out in the storage area of the store destroying many items in that area, and causing smoke throughout the building, officials said. The exact cause of the fire was not determined.

For updates on the ReStore go to habitatcorning.org/restore.

This article originally appeared on The Leader: Corning ReStore fire: Two months later, where things stand