While Greater Portland Habitat for Humanity could not find a location to move five Higgins Beach cottages that were donated to it or find someone willing to move them, the organization still managed to do something with the buildings – resell the interior parts.

On Thursday a group of 31 members, including 20 teens, of the Christian Church Disciples of Christ from Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Illinois, were at the site tearing out anything usable from the homes, on Kelly Lane in Scarborough, before they were demolished and removed from the site. The group has been assisting with Habitat projects for 19 years and each summer travels to a different location to assist with a project.

The workers removed or stripped useful items from three of the cottages, but left two fully intact in hopes of finding someone who is interested in either moving them or donating land so Habitat may move them. They buildings will remain intact for the next month or so.

The materials that were saved will be used to open Habitat’s first ReStore facility in Portland. The facility is a joint operation between Greater Portland Habitat for Humanity, the Bath/Brunswick Habitat for Humanity and the Building Material Exchange.

“We just need to get some items, some stock,” explained Steve Bolton, executive director and construction manager for Greater Portland Habitat for Humanity. “This is the first step in collaborating, of working as a team and getting materials out.”

BME is a non-profit organization with warehouses in Gray and Sanford that collects and sells housing materials at a significant discount to low-income people who qualify for the program. In addition to used items, BME also receives donations from larger companies and estimated that 90 percent of his stock is new items, according to Director Dave Zimmerman.

So far the search for a warehouse for the ReStore program has been unsuccessful, but Bolton and Zimmerman remain optimistic that one will be found in the near future. In the meantime, the material taken from the Higgins Beach cottages will be stored at one of BME’s warehouses.

Once opened the ReStore facility will benefit all participating organizations. Every week Habitat receives calls regarding materials, but has been unable to fill the requests. For BME, the ReStore program will bring a greater awareness of its program to greater Portland, something that is now lacking since it is in Sanford and Gray and primarily assists people living in those areas.

In addition, it will give Habitat another revenue source that will help with the group’s mission of building affordable quality housing for those who qualify.

Some of the material available at ReStore will be exclusively used for the BME. Generally speaking anything that heat, seal or protects a building will be used strictly for the BME program, which assists some 6,000 people, according to Zimmerman.

However, BME does receive items that do not fall into those three categories and are no necessarily essential, but do have a good resale value. Items such as those will be available to the general public when the ReStore building opens.

Zimmerman said his company is willing to come to homes being renovated to look at items and see if they are reusable by his organization.

Those who are interested in donating household materials to the ReStore program or BME may call Habitat at 772-2151 or BME at 324-4574.

Kentucky residents Trey Cundiff, Rev. Homer Hecht and Scott Rousey, all from the Christian Church Disciples of Christ, remove siding from one of the three Scarborough cottages that were stripped and demolished by Habitat for Humanity in Scarborough last week.