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Five-star Aspen furnishings heading to Habitat’s ReStore

Carolyn SackariasonThe Aspen TimesAspen, CO Colorado
Carolyn Sackariason/The Aspen Times Kenneth Henson on Tuesday throws his weight behind a dresser from a room in Aspen's Little Nell hotel. Movers from Olde Towne Moving and Storage are hauling items out of 86 rooms that will be remodeled and are taking them to the Habitat for Humanity's ReStore, where they will be sold to the public.
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ASPEN – Those who live in homes built by the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity will likely enjoy five-star furnishings, thanks to the Aspen Skiing Co.Thousands of pieces of furniture and decor from 86 rooms in The Little Nell hotel have been donated to the ReStore – an outlet that sells goods to the general public at a fraction of the retail price to help Habitat For Humanity Roaring Fork Valley fund the construction of homes within the community.On Tuesday, crews from Olde Towne Moving and Storage began loading up trucks full of hotel room items. Each room is literally being stripped bare and everything – including toilets, carpet, doors, sconces, crown molding, casings, trim, as well as mattresses, headboards, dressers, lamps, art, couches, chairs, end tables, coffee tables, mini refrigerators, pillows, bed spreads and more – has been donated.Those items will go on sale Friday at the ReStore in Carbondale to Skico employees, who will enjoy 25 percent off. Starting Saturday, the items will be available to the general public.Nearly two dozen movers are spending the next two days hauling everything out of the Little Nell, which closed Tuesday and is undergoing an $18 million interior remodel during the offseason. The hotel rooms are scheduled to re-open Dec. 1.Olde Towne Moving and Storage has donated the trucks and the crew to make the move. About six truckloads a day are required to get all the materials to the ReStore before the end of the week.J.P. Strait, construction manager for Habitat for Humanity Roaring Fork Valley, said he plans to use materials from the hotel rooms for homes being built in Rifle. “I can design the whole interior around this stuff,” he said.Strait said the donation saves the Skico from having to pay to remove the materials and it saves the general contractor from having to take it to the landfill, or find a way to recycle it. It also benefits the ReStore and the people who benefit from Habitat for Humanity, Strait added.Kristen Wilmes, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Roaring Fork Valley, estimates that the Little Nell donation will amount to about $100,000 in revenue for the ReStore.That revenue will likely be put toward Habitat for Humanity’s goal of building seven homes in Rifle and Silt in the next two and a half years, Strait said.Wilmes said the ReStore will have two additional warehouse spaces to accommodate all of the Little Nell inventory. Habitat for Humanity has rented an additional warehouse near its Carbondale ReStore and the other is across Highway 82, and was donated by Morris & Fyrwald Real Estate.”This is the biggest project we’ve taken on,” she said.Matt Hamilton, sustainability manager for the Skico who also is in charge of the company’s corporate philanthropy, said the Skico had a short time frame in which to remove all of the hotel room’s inventory. He said he has worked with Habitat for Humanity Roaring Fork Valley before and couldn’t think of a better organization to donate to.”Certainly the mission of Habitat is important,” he said. “When you think about the economy, it’s a win-win … it’s not going to the landfill and you can get nice stuff for cheap.”csack@aspentimes.com