Organization benefits from Warren demolition

An organization that builds homes for those in need found plenty of treasures in the rubble of a demolition project on land owned by Warren Township High School district.

Warren District 121 board members approved the demolition of two homes that had served as the administration offices on Gages Lake Road, just outside Gurnee. Mold problems led to the decision to wreck the structures and move the administration to a new facility that'll be part of a larger project at Warren's Almond Road upperclassmen campus.

Habitat for Humanity Lake County was invited by Warren to take whatever could be useful from the buildings that were torn down. It turned out to be quite a haul for Habitat after the work ended late last week.

Interior doors, wood floors, sump pumps, kitchen cabinets, windows and water heaters and metal from the houses will be available at Habitat's ReStore on Grand Avenue in Gurnee. Habitat also has an Elgin ReStore.

Julie Donovan, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Lake County, said the items at the organization's stores typically sell at deep discounts. The money raised benefits the organization's mission to build homes for those who are less fortunate.

"We are selective," Donovan said of what's available at the ReStore. "We say 'no' to a lot of things. We have our limits."

As a bonus, Donovan said, the Habitat volunteers collected materials that can be sold and were kept out of landfills.

District 121 plans to build athletic fields on the 22-acre site where the houses once stood.

Over the past 20 years, Habitat has built about 120 houses for qualifying families who buy their houses at no profit to the organization and with no-interest mortgages. Families must invest 500 hours of labor for their home and other Habitat needs.