‘If Goodwill and Home Depot had a baby’: Large discount store opens in Pierce County

Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity will officially open its largest retail and home improvement store in the county this Friday in Spanaway.

Boasting 19,000 square feet of shopping space with discount furniture, building materials, tools, windows, light fixtures, housewares, paint, new mattresses and more, the store inhabits the former Rite Aid at 15801 Pacific Ave. S.

“It’s kind of like if Goodwill and Home Depot had a baby,” described director of operations Ed Dopp on Wednesday.

Habitat for Humanity has three other stores in Pierce County , one in Tacoma, Lakewood and Puyallup. Donations are accepted at all sites and proceeds go toward the nonprofit’s programs to build affordable housing, Dopp said.

About 60% of the sales floor is furniture, he said. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, with donations accepted by 5:30 p.m.

Depending on the condition, most items are sold at half their retail price, Dobb said.

Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity has wanted to open a retail store in Spanaway for some time, and the location was chosen in part because of the concentration of residential homes in the area and proximity to a retail corridor, he said.

Habitat also is in the process of purchasing 80 single-family homes from the Pierce County Housing Authority , a majority of which are in this neighborhood, Dobb said. The five-year plan is to renovate those properties, sell them to homeowners and have those houses stay in the affordable housing inventory of Pierce County for perpetuity, he said.

“This [store opening] helps us be able to have a presence there, besides coming in with the homes, being part of the community,” Dobb said.