Opening doors to the future and the past
C.M. WALKER/Alachua County Today
Alachua Chamber of Commerce President David Flinchum cuts the ribbon at the ceremonal grand opening of the Chamber of Commerce and Museum as city officials and chamber members gather to witness the event.
ALACHUA – A renovation that began with an idea around 2006, is nearing completion in downtown Alachua. The Alachua Chamber of Commerce Welcome Center and Museum, 14801 Main Street, was the site of a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 9.
On hand for the ceremony were David Flinchum, Alachua Chamber President, Jerry Smith, first Chamber President and founder, and Building Committee members Jim Brandenburg, retired Alachua Elementary School Principal, Linda Rice Chapman, local attorney, Gib Coerper, Mayor, and David Pope, WACO.
A crowd of approximately 75-80 dignitaries and representatives from city and county governments, various Chambers of Commerce, volunteers and Alachua Chamber members were on hand to witness the ceremony and hear comments by Pope, acting as master of ceremonies, Flinchum, Smith, Coerper and Emelie Matthews, President of the Alachua Historical Society.
Recognizing dignitaries and company representatives in the audience who donated time, products and/or financial support to the project, the speakers thanked them for their support and talked about how they believed the Center would benefit area citizens and visitors alike. A brief history of the Chamber and a vision of how the various elements of the Welcome Center may benefit the citizens was the focus of Smith's talk.
“This is the culmination of an idea some of our Chamber members have had for a long time,” said Coerper. “We were offered an opportunity to lease this building from the city at a nominal fee when it became vacant in 2007. However, we had a few hurdles to jump over before we could begin the actual renovation,” said Chapman.
The structure, which was built in 1961, began life as a post office. When a new post office was built, the building saw some changes as it became the home of the Alachua Police Department.
The 2010 sq. ft. police facility was completely gutted during demolition. “The only remaining vestige of the police department is a small holding cell which was left in place for historic reasons,” said Coerper.
The building is now open. Demolition, code-related repairs, painting and landscaping have all been done.
“We are extremely proud of what has been accomplished here,” said Coerper.
Grants from the Alachua County Tourist Development Council and the Alachua Downtown Redevelopment Trust Board, plus a generous personal donation from Jerry Smith, as well as additional donations from the historic society and many other individuals and businesses helped get the project started and kept it going to completion, Coerper said.
Local architect Paul Stresing donated his time to work with the chamber to get the building up to code while also maintaining the integrity of the historic structure. Additional donations of time, supplies and manpower by people like Jim Brandenburg, who painted the entire outside of the building by himself, WastePro, which provided dumpsters during demolition and paid all of the dumping fees, plus volunteers from Rebuilding Together and the Walmart Distribution Center, who pitched in during demolition, were all vital to this project, he said.
The Welcome Center will also house a historical museum and a small Chamber office. Chapman, the fundraising chair for the project, and Matthews are continuing to seek further funding to furnish the interior and complete some outside projects.
“Folding partitions and display cases will help provide display areas for historic artifacts,” said Chapman. “Museum displays are expected to change four times a year and will showcase different aspects of the history of our area. The first display is expected to feature the early turpentine industry in this area,” she said. “It's an aspect of this town that many residents may not have known about.”
Another aspect of the Welcome Center will be a tourist information bureau. “We will provide information to visitors on the places they are likely to want to visit in Alachua County. At some point, we hope to have a computer set up with photos and information for visitors to help them learn more about how diverse Alachua County is and all we have to offer,” said Chapman.
A donation received recently from Linn Check-Mathis of North Florida Stained Glass, was a stained glass window, which has been placed above the building's front doorway. The art is beautiful and functional as well as it prominently features the building number and the words, “The Good Life Community.” Coerper thought the glass should be flanked by two matching sidelights and donated the cost to have those made and installed.
Meanwhile, Chapman has found, cleaned up and replaced many of the tiny missing tiles from the front of the building, which had fallen in the dirt below.
“Everybody worked really well as a team on this project,” said Coerper.
Although many people involved have ideas as to how the building could be used by the public, the committee will have to meet to discuss details before parts of the building will be made available for meetings or other functions according to Coerper.
A Wall of Doners is nearing completion by Chapman. “It is one special way we can honor the time, money and effort of businesses, individuals and the volunteers who helped create this space for our community,” said Chapman. “We are very grateful for all of their efforts and this is one way we can show our gratitude,” she said.
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cwalker@
alachuatoday.com
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