Chamber to move to its own building

Rachel Thompson/News-Register##The McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce will move into the building it just purchased at 1215 N.E. Baker St. this spring. Ticor Title now occupies the site, but will move to West Second Street.

The McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce will move into its own building at 12th and Baker streets this spring — the first time in the organization’s 111 year history it has owned, rather than rented, its headquarters.

“People will know where to find us and we can put down roots,” said John Olson, president and CEO.

The building at 1215 N.E. Baker St. will provide twice as much space as the Chamber now occupies at 319 N.E. Fifth St.

That will allow room for a visible and accessible visitors’ center, as well as for Chamber offices and rooms for training and other sessions with member businesses. It also will accommodate the Chamber’s two tenants, the Celtic Heritage Alliance and Pattie Warner’s Brown & Brown Insurance office.

Outside, there will be plenty of parking in a lot and on Baker Street, Olson said.

“This is a major milestone for your Chamber and a clear statement about our long-term commitment to McMinnville’s business community,” Olson said. “Ownership provides stability, financial stewardship and certainty for decades to come.”

The Chamber, an organization that advocates for and supports local businesses, has operated in McMinnville since 1915.

For many years, until moving to Fifth Street five years ago, it occupied the city-owned Nelson House on Adams Street next to the McMinnville Aquatic Center. Before that, it rented space in the 500 block of Third Street.

The new site was once home to Combs’ Market and then Asmussen’s Funeral Home. It currently holds the offices of Ticor Title, which will relocate to new quarters on West Second Street this spring. Officials of the title and escrow company said they will move into the West Hills Health Care Complex, hopefully by March.

Olson said the Chamber will give Ticor plenty of time before making its own move to the building. His organization was pleased to have found a new, one-level office space that’s ready to occupy, rather than needing renovation, he said.

The Chamber board approved the purchase and closed on the property Tuesday.

Olson said his staff will miss being located in downtown McMinnville. But the new building will be easy to find and still in a business corridor.

“We believe this move strengthens our ability to fulfill our mission and serve as a voice for all McMinnville businesses, wherever they operate in our community,” he said.