Chamber wants to grow
By Terry Murry on Thursday, September 1st, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The Pendleton Chamber of Commerce has plans to expand and remodel its building at Main Street and Southwest Frazer Avenue. The $2.3 million project has been shelved during the pandemic. Chief Executive Officer Cheri Rosenberg said the plans to turn the building into a resource center all depend on when the funding can be found.
“Once we can start raising the money and have a good idea of what those funding streams look like, the plans are there,” she said. “We can hit the ground running.”
The expansion was among projects the Pendleton Development Commission anticipates will request loans or grants for in the future. That list put the project at $2.3 million, with anticipated PDC funding of $575,000.
Rosenberg said that part of the reason for the project is safety, since motor homes have grown since the building opened in 1995 and the structure has taken some hits from the oversized vehicles. The other reason, she said, is to amp up the services the chamber can offer the community.
“We want to make it a resource center, where we have a computer lab and the capability to workshops,” she said.
Rosenberg said the plans are on the back burner and are not among the chamber’s most immediate plans for the future.
