The
ReBuilding Center to Expand
Development Plans Will Double the Center's Capacity
By Rita Haberman
It all started
some five years ago with a vision, a dedicated group of volunteers,
and one volunteer’s generous $15,000 loan on a credit card. Within
one month of opening its doors to the public, The ReBuilding Center
(TRC) was operating in the black. This nonprofit organization accepts
and carries the region’s largest and most diverse inventory of
used and salvaged building materials. TRC serves as a national waste-based
success model.
What’s the
big deal about construction and demolition (C&D) waste going to
landfills? According to Metro Regional Services, C&D waste is
the largest single contributor by volume to our region’s waste,
making up 28% of our region’s waste stream. Metro also estimates
that Portland area contractors annually dispose of 95,000 drop box
loads (or 360,000 tons) of C&D debris, 60% of which could have
been reused or recycled.
TRC’s founders
recognized the need and an opportunity to demonstrate how a group
of everyday people could change a wasteful practice into a viable
resource benefiting our community and our environment.
Each day, more
than 200 people visit TRC to donate materials, shop for salvage goods,
and learn about sustainable practices. TRC annually diverts from landfills
for reuse more than 5 million pounds of lumber, cabinets, doors, windows,
tubs, lighting, hardware, and other house parts. That’s the equivalent
of two to three 20-foot-long flatbed truckloads each day.
TRC’s salvage
services have become so popular that demand for them exceeds the capacity
of its existing facility, a 24,000-square-foot warehouse and exposed
salvage yard. Plans are underway to fully develop the remaining 40,000
square feet of The ReBuilding Center’s site.
Highlights
of TRC’s 
improvement plans include:
• 2 new warehouses offering an additional 28,000 square feet
• 28 new off-street parking/loading spaces
• Green building features like the building façade made
from salvaged windows, doors and siding; natural daylighting from
many windows and strategic roof angles; bioswales of native vegetation;
and porous concrete; and community gathering and education spaces.
TRC’s increased
and more efficient waste reduction services offer a multitude of environmental,
economic, and community benefits: Increase TRC’s annual waste
diversion capacity by 100%, from 5 million to 10 million pounds; protect
natural resources and reduce landfill dumping; create 20 new full-time
jobs; protect all TRC inventory from the elements and weather damage;
demonstrate and inspire practical and sustainable, green building
practices; make affordable and environmentally responsible materials
available to the public; enhance everyone’s TRC experience; and
support community enhancement work of Our United Villages, The ReBuilding
Center’s parent nonprofit organization.
TRC is well into
a capital campaign to raise $2 million to complete the improvement
project. To date, TRC has secured approximately $1.5 million from
a variety of donations, in-kind services, grants, and loans.
You can be
a part of this historic project by:
Donating funds. Checks can made out and mailed to: The ReBuilding
Center, 3625 N. Mississippi Ave., Portland, OR 97227.
Volunteering your
time and skills. Volunteering opportunities around the campaign are
wide and include assisting with special events, helping to move lumber
and plumbing fixtures to our new location, and fundraising. To find
out more, please call 503-517-0953.
Donating used
building materials. Sales from donations to TRC are essential to keeping
TRC going and supporting the community work of Our United Villages.
Donations of materials
and funds are tax deductible within the extent of the law. TRC is
a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Pending successful
fundraising efforts to close the $500,000 gap, groundbreaking for
the project is scheduled for winter 2004. Construction will take approximately
four months. Lumber and plumbing departments will be temporarily relocated
to a satellite store at the corner of N. Mississippi & N. Russell.
Both locations will remain open to the public seven days a week.
To help complete
TRC or receive more information, please contact The ReBuilding Center,
3625 N. Mississippi Ave.,
Portland, OR 97227, 503-331-1877, or www.rebuildingcenter.org. |
