Anyone with lumber in good condition, unused floor tile left over from a recent project or a can of paint they never opened now has a place where it will be welcome.

The Cape Area Habitat for Humanity ReStore opens Thursday to accept donations of those items and a long list of other surplus building materials, organizers said Monday. The 9,000 square-foot store at 117 N. Middle St. will also provide a place to purchase those materials at a substantial savings, with the purchases supporting Habitat's work of building homes for lower-income families, said Nancy Grand, a member of the Habitat subcommittee spearheading the project.

The store will begin selling as soon as it has logged a sufficient inventory, she said.

"We hope to be open for sales as soon as feasible," Grand said. "If it is only a week, that would be a nice problem to have."

The list of acceptable items is long, but general requirements apply -- used materials, such as appliances, must be in good shape. The store will not accept upholstered furniture and will not accept televisions or computers. Building supplies such as roofing materials, lumber and drywall must generally be new, clean or undamaged.

The store will be open from 9 a.m. to noon to accept donations. Donors are asked not to leave material when there is no one available to receive it and, until a truck is donated, donors must bring their material to the store, organizers said.

"I am hoping that what makes us special is that the donations we receive and sell to the public will be used to build more Habitat homes," board member and organizer Beth Wilhelm said.

All donations will be screened, with appliances and mechanical tools checked to make sure they work, Wilhelm said. Every item will have a 14-day return policy, and anyone who drops off broken tools or appliances will be expected to take them back, she said.

Habitat for Humanity ReStores have been big successes in other locations, Grand said, and she expects the Cape Girardeau store to be able to boast similar achievements.

"We hope to outgrow our building very quickly," she said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 126