Mel Toadvine The entrance to the site in the Towne Center on Alabama Rd. and Homestead Rd. where the Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce may move into if shopping plaza owner Eugen Borosch and the Chamber can come to terms

The Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce may be moving soon if negotiations over a site at the Lehigh Towne Center works out.

Currently, the Chamber’s office and welcome center is at 4109 Lee Blvd. and it is small house converted to an office for the Chamber. It has been located there for around two decades. Since then the Chamber has grown and now has three paid members on staff, and several volunteers who turn out daily.

During Season, the entry area is jam packed with people visiting Lehigh to pick up information about the area.

The site that the Chamber is eyeing is part of the building that Randy’s Discount Furniture occupied before it closed last month. More specifically, it is on the south end of the site and has a large entrance area on the outside and it is covered from the elements.

The site that the Chamber may move into faces Joe’s Dinner in the shopping plaza owned by Eugen and Conchita Borosch.

Photos by JACK MORSE Eugen Borosch, owner of the Lehigh Town Centre invited Chamber officials and two state senators to a mid-day luncheon to bring them together. Borosch said the Chamber is negotiating for a site in the Towne Center. If negotiations are successful, the Chamber could move by early fall into a much larger site in down Lehigh Acres. Shown from left to right are Michael Welch, Sen. Garrett Richter, Sen. Mike Bennett, Eugen Borosch, Conchita Borosch, Joe Whalen, and Karen Makowski.

Joe Whalen, the CEO of the Chamber, said the board was still negotiating with Borosch.

“It’s not a done deal until it’s done,” he said.

“But I am excited about the location and the extra room the new site offers the Chamber,” he said. “It also makes me closer to the majority of our members in Lehigh,” he said.

Borosch says the site is ideal for the Chamber and gives its great visibility in downtown Lehigh.

“People will be able to see where the Chamber office and welcome center is easily and we will also promote the Chamber on our new color marquee sign on the corner of Alabama and Homestead Rds.

Just recently, Borosch hosted a luncheon with two state senators and representatives of the Chamber. The two were State Sen. Mike Bennett, representing District 21 and State Sen. Garrett Richter, representing District 37. Borosch said he thought it was important for the Chamber and the senators to get together and develop a relationship. They met for lunch at the Cuban restaurant at the shopping Center.

In addition to Whalen, also attending the noon time luncheon was Karen Makowski, CEO of Panther Community Bank, who is active on the Chamber board.

Jack Morse, a real estate agent who works with Borosch noted that the final papers had not been signed.

“They are negotiating and it is not official until the lease is signed,” he said.

“But what an ideal place for the Chamber of Commerce and they will have the room they need. Already Ed Weiner, another board member of the Chamber, has drawn from his experience as an architect, and has drawn up plans for the interior of the building. If the Chamber moves in, wall will have to be erected for office space.

The Lehigh Towne Center is one of the busiest shopping centers on Lehigh. It is also the first shopping center built in Lehigh, but when purchased years ago by Borosch, it was completely renovated and its facade was renovated again two years ago.

It’s the home of Jack’s Market, Joe’s Diner, two cell phone offices, The Medicine Shoppe, a dollar store, a Chinese restaurant, and much more.

If negotiations go as hoped by both parties, the Chamber could be in the building by fall.

“No doubt about it, we will have plenty of room. It will be double or more the size of where we are now,” Whalen said.

“It’s a great site,” said Conchita Borosch, who along with her husband owns the property.

“We are very happy to have them in our shopping plaza. It’s just a natural site for the Chamber,” she said.