A popular art and furnishings shop that raises money for a housing renovations charity is to reopen in a new location.

Sheelagh Cooper, the chairwoman of Habitat for Humanity of Bermuda, hopes ReStore can welcome new customers to its new spot on King Street next month thanks to the support of a generous supporter.

Ms Cooper said: “We put the word out to our donors and one of them, around Christmas time, came back to us and said he was feeling the Christmas spirit and that he would like to help out.

“He said there was a great building that he was aware of that he was happy to buy for us, for our charity and give it to Habitat.”

Ms Cooper said the new location, Grosvenor Lodge, was next to Hamilton Fire Station on King Street, with parking nearby.

“The building offers lots of great retail space and plenty of exposure, as much of the Hamilton traffic passes by there on their way out of town,” she said.

“In addition, its location in the southeast Hamilton empowerment zone provides a range of government savings, including land tax and various import duties on materials used to refurbish the building.

“Having said that, there is very little needed as far as renovations are concerned as the building is in great shape with very attractive open-beamed ceilings.”

Ms Cooper added that the property also came with another bonus — a three-storey building behind the store location, which the charity hopes to convert into affordable housing.

“It would be a wonderful way to combine our site with our mission, which is to create affordable housing for people that would otherwise not be able to afford housing,” she said.

Ms Cooper added that in advance of ReStore’s planned reopening in early March, the charity was offering some furniture donors the opportunity to sell through the charity by way of consignment.

“This is not something we have ever done before but this will offer our customers a range of more exclusive items as we begin to rebuild our inventory,” she said.

Habitat Bermuda first opened its ReStore in York House on Front Street, commonly called the Bluck’s building, in 2020, when it offered new and gently used items such as home furnishings and art, with the money raised going towards the charity’s various affordable housing projects.

Ms Cooper said: “The ReStore plays a significant role in financing our projects.

“Last year we completed the residential treatment centre in Somerset, a two-apartment complex in Devonshire as well as four single family home renovation projects largely funded by the ReStore.”

However, last October it was revealed that the shop would have to close its doors because of the amount of work needed at the ageing site on Front Street.

The charity initially hoped it would be able to move the business online while it carried out repairs but it was determined that the project would take too long and cost too much.

A recent planning application proposed tearing down York House altogether and replacing it with a five-storey office building.

Ms Cooper said: “Of course we will miss our previous location in the Bluck’s building but sadly it was falling down around us and we were worried about the safety of our customers and our wonderful volunteers.”

While she said the four-month closure had impacted the charity’s bottom line, she noted that the support of donors meant none of the organisation’s projects were affected.

“In fact, so far, this year alone, we have completed three home renovation projects,” she said.

She praised the work of the volunteers who have supported the charity over the years and said that their work meant Habitat was able to keep costs at ReStore low while still raising money for important projects to benefit the community.

Anyone with items to donate or who would like to discuss consignment opportunities was invited to e-mail Habitat.bermuda@gmail.com.