Chamber Office. This is the site of the small house that the Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce calls home. It is small and not large enough to conduct business needed to meet the greater demands made on the Chamber today. That is why Chamber officials are looking to lease a larger site. Photo by Mel Toadvine

The offices of the Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce have outgrown the building and Chamber officials are looking for a larger building.

Currently, the Chamber building, also known as the Welcome Center, is located in what was once a house at 4109 Lee Blvd. The Chamber and its Welcome Center have been at that location since the mid 1990s.

But board members for the past couple of years have realized their quarters are too small because the Chamber has outgrown itself and finds conducting business difficult in the small space. It can’t hold board or committee meetings there anymore because of the Chamber’s growth.

Joe Whalen, the president and CEO of the Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce, said a newsletter went out two weeks ago to its membership asking anyone who can suggest a larger office building to contact them. And then this week, Whalen said they planned to send out another letter asking for proposals to lease space for “its business and economic development offices.”

“We’ve just outgrown the building. The small room which was once a garage became a small meeting room and now is the office of Susan Teston, the assistant executive director. In addition to her desk, it is filled with office equipment for copying and faxing and other things.

Joe Whalen

For the past few years, the 15-member board of directors of the Chamber have had to meet at various locations in the community. They left the Lee Blvd. building to meet monthly in the mid 1990s to convene in the conference room at Florida Community Bank. And since then they have met at various locations including Fountain Crest, a senior citizen housing complex on Taylor Extension.

Today, the Chamber holds its monthly business meetings at a conference room at Sterling House on Business Way, which is an assisted living complex.

Besides there being no suitable space for a permanent meeting room for the Chamber’s board, the various committees meet at restaurants and other locations throughout the community.

“We hold our meetings at businesses that are members of our Chamber,” Whalen said.

If the Chamber is able to lease a place, the present building would go up for sale, he said. According to the Lee County Property Appraiser’s online site, the building’s worth is listed at $128,220 for tax purposes. The building contains 1100 square feet and would be ideal for a small or new business, Whalen said. And just recently, the Chamber put on a new roof.

Susan Teston

The Chamber is working with Realtor Jim Boback and he has suggested a location for the Chamber but board members want to make sure the search is opened to all in the community that it serves.

“At first the Chamber had planned to buy another piece of property and sell the present building,” Whalen said. “But now the board wants to go in another direction and lease space for a time.

The draft copy of the request for an office site for the Chamber said proposals would be accepted from Chamber members who are building owners, Realtors, property managers and those authorized to enter into a binding agreement with the Chamber.

And proposals will be accepted until Thursday, April 30 at 5 p.m. They should be sent to the Chamber by personal delivery at 4109 Lee Blvd., or mailed to PO Box 757, Lehigh Acres, FL., 33970 or emailed to Joe Whalen at: jWhalen@LehighAcresChamber.org.

There are certain requirements of the Chamber which include a site with at least 1,500 square feet at minimum, a site located on Lee Blvd. or Homestead Rd., generally considered in the downtown area, and the lease space must be situated on land zoned commercial with parking spaces which shall be strictly for Chamber use and will have a ratio of one space for each 300 square feet.

Presently, there is sparking for only a few vehicles and visitors often have to park on the grass adjoining the small parking lot or along Douglas Ave., which runs south by the present building which is situated on that corner.

The proposal also calls for the building to be ADA accessible and contain such space for a reception area, four offices, a conference area with room for a conference table and 20 chairs, restrooms, a room to accommodate a copy machine, fax machine and other office equipment, storage space and a kitchen area with room to accommodate a refrigerator, sink counters and cabinets.

The Chamber wants a site that has street frontage which would face either of the two main arteries in Lehigh and the site must be allowed to have space for a sign designated by Lee County sign code at no extra cost to the Chamber.

The Chamber is looking for a rent structure lease for three years and the Chamber would have the right to exercise an additional three-year lease.

Whalen said the Chamber wants the right of first refusal should the owner of the site decide to sell the property.

Whalen said that ever since the national spotlight that Lehigh found itself in when President Obama came to Fort Myers in February, the traffic has increased at the Chamber office with more people coming to the Welcome Center to get information about Lehigh.

The present building has a small “open area” space for visitors who come in for information, literature and to talk with volunteers about Lehigh.

“If we have six, eight or more people, it can get a little tight in here,” Whalen said.

Teston said there are now two paid staff people, herself and Whalen. In addition, there are two commissioned sales people who sell memberships and there are 20 volunteers who take shifts working in the building, answering the phones and helping people with information.

“We couldn’t even exist without those volunteers. They are wonderful,” Teston said.

When the Chamber first purchased the house on Lee Blvd., the population of Lehigh was in the mid 30,000 range. Now it is estimated that the population of Lehigh is between 60,000 and 80,000 and many more businesses have located in Lehigh.

The Chamber is an active one and has taken on a leadership role in the community with other organizations for the betterment of Lehigh.

“Hopefully, we will have some offers for a larger site and then negotiations can begin with our board,” Whalen said.