Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Christine Miller, alongside Chamber board members, closed a deal June 25 to purchase a 2,949 square-feet office building at 2504 Walden Woods Dr. for $895,000. The building is slated to become its new home by mid-2025.
The building, located across from the post office, was constructed in 1998 and sits on almost an acre of land that boasts 18 parking spaces plus a handicap space.
“Securing this new building for the chamber is a strategic move that lays the foundation for future growth, stability and success,” said President and CEO Christine Miller. “The right property can transform the way a business operates and sets the stage for long-term prosperity…and this is the right property for the chamber.”
The Chamber has been leasing space at 118 W. Reynolds St. in downtown Plant City since 2021, following the sale of a building it owned on Evers Street. Board member, past-chairperson (2020) and building committee chair, Courtney Paat, said the building committee’s search for a new location was a challenge. “Our intent was to stay downtown and I feel like I have looked at every single building in downtown trying to find something that would meet our needs,” she said. “We considered building a brand new building, renovating an existing structure and leasing in downtown and midtown but after three years we weren’t having any success.”
That’s when the decision was made to expand the search outside of downtown. “Almost immediately this property came up,” she said.
In addition to building committee, Paat said the board of directors, in a unanimous decision, voted to move forward with the purchase of the building.
“Moving out of downtown was something that was thoughtfully considered but we felt this building met all of our needs with its size and ample parking,” she said. “The concrete block building construction will also mean that lower maintenance costs will allow the chamber to spend more of its resources on supporting the business community.”
The chamber’s current location has made it difficult to hold staff meetings let alone hosting member gatherings. “In our former building, in addition to the chamber offices we had a boardroom available for our members to use and a community room that was available for anyone to use. It was great for training and presentations and many community organizations met there.”
She said there will be plenty of new room in the new location to make those spaces available again. “We’re really excited about bringing that back,” said Paat.
The Chamber, which boasts 552 members, was founded in 1924 and, per its website, “is committed to advancing the general welfare and economic development of Plant City to ensure the prosperity of businesses and citizens.”
The Tourist Information Center, which is also housed in the chamber office, will move to the new location.
The Chamber plans to modify the building interior, which is currently divided into three separate tenant spaces. “We’re working on that design right now,” said Paat. “We’re excited to move on to the next step and create a home for the chamber that meets the needs of the business community. A lot of businesses utilize the chamber and it becomes a place of networking and where opportunities happen.”
For more information about the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce visit www.plantcity.org or call (813) 754-3707.