Cortland ReUse located on 1041 McLean Road in the town of Cortlandville (Photo Source: Kevin L. Smith/Cortland Voice).
A fledgling nonprofit that sells reusable materials and goods has reached the next chapter of its organization.
Cortland ReUse, an organization that began in 2019, will have a soft opening for its facility in the middle of this month — with the grand opening set for the “coming months,” said Cortland ReUse Board of Directors President John Zelson.
Located on 1041 McLean Road in the town of Cortlandville, Cortland ReUse’s new tax exempt headquarters includes 4,800-square-feet of retail space and a 2,800-square-foot warehouse.
Materials that will be sold in the facility come from donations, the landfill in Cortland County, and inventory from Cortland ReUse’s sister organization -- Finger Lakes ReUse in Ithaca.
“All materials will be cleaned up and be up for sale shortly after,” Zelson said. “We want to easily connect people with this stuff, and stuff they can get for cheap.”
Zelson said the organization’s center will be a “fun, unique shopping experience” for the community. He noted that community members can even set aside materials, including a variety of colors of glass, paint and objects for public art.
“We’re very excited for them,” said Diane Cohen, executive director for Finger Lakes ReUse, who has worked closely with Cortland ReUse for a couple of years. “It furthers our goals to see more reuse happen and inspire replication.”
The materials sold at the center can benefit education, art and do-it-yourself programs in the area, Zelson said. Cortland ReUse may have its own fix-it sessions down the road, he added.
“The goal is to make good things happen in Cortland,” Zelson said.
The organization of Cortland ReUse is mainly built on volunteers -- about 20 of them with seven active on a regular basis -- but Zelson said the organization plans to hire a paid staff worker this month.
Volunteer John Busch paints the walls inside the new Cortland ReUse facility on McLean Road in the town of Cortlandville. (Photo Source/Kevin L. Smith/Cortland Voice).
“The more money we make through this center, the more people we can hire,” Zelson said, who added the goal is to hire at least one staff member every month for the next few months.
Until then, Zelson said the organization is always looking for more volunteers. Zelson praised the volunteers currently on hand for Cortland ReUse.
“I’m surprised with how many people want to help,” he said. “They’re always looking to help in any way.”
Last year, Cortland ReUse and Finger Lakes ReUse teamed up for a de-construction project at a house behind the Cortland County airport in the town of Cortlandville.
De-construction, explained by Cohen, is the process of disassembling a building by hand, or “construction backwards” to retain reusable materials and goods.
Finger Lakes ReUse has a “full-fledged” de-construction program. For Cortland ReUse, a program of that magnitude won’t occur at its facility for another 2-3 years, Zelson said.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do cleaning and fixing up the store,” he added, who said preparation for the center to be 100% complete will take some time. “We definitely want to do small projects here and there around the community, but de-construction projects won’t be for a while.”
Zelson gave a nod to Finger Lakes ReUse for helping Cortland ReUse “hit the ground running” with its organization and new facility.
“They’ve been such a big help and so supportive of our efforts,” he said. “Our goal is to help people with their projects by providing the necessary materials for it.”
Whether it’s for a project or an idea in mind, Cortland ReUse will provide the materials needed, Zelson added.
“They have great board members and committed community members,” Cohen said. “They’re taking the right steps to get this off the ground.”
For more information on Cortland ReUse, visit the organization’s Facebook page or email at [email protected].
