Bargain-hunters go nuts for new mega-discount furniture store: 'If Goodwill and Home Depot had a baby'

Discount shoppers can rejoice now that sprawling retail and home improvement store has opened in Washington state.  

The nonprofit Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity opened its fourth mega-discount store in Spanaway, near Tacoma, on Friday, featuring 19,000 square feet of discounted furniture, building materials, tools and more.

'It's kind of like if Goodwill and Home Depot had a baby,' director of operations Ed Dopp told The News Tribune.

The location is one of four big discount stores opened by the Washington-based nonprofit. 

Dopp said that around 60 percent of the sales floor features furniture.

All four locations have donation centers for those looking to declutter before purchasing new items.

Proceeds from the sales help build, rehabilitate, and repair homes in Pierce County, according to the nonprofit's website.

The Spanaway store was a longtime dream for Dopp, who told The News Tribune earlier this year that he intended to open one in the area.

The nonprofit selected the Tacoma area in part because of the concentration of residential homes in the area.

The stores are open from 9am to 6pm every day, andaccept donations until 5:30.

The nonprofit is also completing the purchase and rehabilitation of 80 public housing units that were once owned by the Tacoma Housing Authority.

According to Dopp, most of the houses are near the just-opened store.

'This [store opening] helps us be able to have a presence there, besides coming in with the homes, being part of the community,' he said.

Dopp and other members of the Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity plan to sell the rehabilitated properties, keeping the houses in the inventory of affordable housing in Pierce County.