Chamber, Visitors Bureau to move to Ithaca’s West End

Last week, the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce and the Ithaca/Tompkins County Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) announced that they plan to move their offices to 124 Brindley St. in Ithaca, in the Aeroplane Factory campus managed by CSP Management, by next spring.

The announcement came after a monthslong search process that involved numerous discussions with Chamber Board of Directors members and other stakeholders and consultations with HOLT Architects — who will be renovating the property — and Warren Real Estate.

“We set up a process that we intended to be inclusive in the fact that our staff was able to contribute to the process and our Board of Directors was as well,” said Chamber President Jennifer Tavares. “We actually had sent out an RFP [request for proposal] for consultants and area firms that may be able to help us with the process so all of the work did not fall on the staff. And so, we actually ended up hiring HOLT Architects as one of those consultants to support the work.”

HOLT worked with the Chamber and CVB to identify the criteria for their new location, including what the space needed to look like, how many offices were needed and what things were a must-have and want-to-have. Ultimately, HOLT came up with two floor plans, one small and one large, with different levels of hybrid work environments to fit whatever space was eventually chosen.

“Once we had that criteria established and example programs for our future space from HOLT Architects, then we were able to work with Warren Real Estate to fully survey the commercial properties out in the market and the potential locations that we could be leasing and understand how we might fit into those spaces, how might our logistics work in those spaces,” Tavares said. “We actually have a pretty heavy operations need in the Convention and Visitors Bureau side of house related to moving inventory of brochures and travel guides, and even retail inventory in and out of our space, which factored heavily into what spaces work for us.”

Tavares explained why the Brindley Street site was ultimately chosen as the Chamber and CVB’s new location.

“The actual location is very central for us to access a lot of our partners and stakeholders,” she said. “The West End has been referred to as an up-and-coming area of town. But Ports of New York being across the street, the Cherry Arts being around the corner, there are a lot of cool neighbors in the Aeroplane Factory building itself. And there’s also plenty … new construction coming further down along the Inlet. And so, it’s really going to change over there in the next five to 10 years. And we’re just excited to get to be a part of that.”

Tavares said that the Chamber and CVB highly considered a new location in downtown Ithaca but ultimately decided on the West End because the Chamber and CVB already have a presence downtown — at the Tompkins Center for History & Culture. The West End location will also allow the Chamber and CVB to occupy the whole building and change the layout to suit their needs.

The idea for moving the Chamber and CVB originated well before the pandemic, Tavares said, though the pandemic helped to expedite the process. The official search for a new site only began six months ago.

So far, the Chamber and CVB’s announcement has been met mostly with enthusiasm by members and stakeholders alike.

“We are extremely excited about the new location, which will place the Visit Ithaca team midway between the Visitor Center at the Overlook at Taughannock Falls and the Visitor Center inside the Tompkins Center for History and Culture on the Ithaca Commons,” said Peggy Coleman, vice president of tourism and community relations at the Chamber and CVB director, in a recent press release. “The ease of access to Brindley Street will make our new offices accessible to more Tompkins County tourism businesses and make our team more efficient in operations.”

Jerry Dietz, owner of CSP Management and a longtime Chamber member, said in the release that he is “thrilled they have selected 124 Brindley St. for their next home.”

“The west side of town is currently benefiting from a great deal of resources, infrastructure and investment being directed into transforming this area into a dynamic neighborhood,” Dietz said. “As an investor in the Brindley Street property, I am looking forward to working with the Chamber of Commerce to create an exciting and welcoming new space that will serve as a gateway to this newly developing area of town. Together, we will create a professional space that supports the Chamber and CVB, connects to their mission, members, tourism partners and stakeholders for a continued vibrant future.”

While lots of folks are excited for the move, there’s much to be done between now and next spring, Tavares said.

“Now, we need to get into the actual design phase of figuring out exactly how the space will be laid out,” she said. “CSP Management being the landlord at that location and also having their own renovation business, they are able to do the work. And so, we’re going to be partnering with them over the next several months to get that work done. … We have a lot of things to prepare in terms of consolidating storage and deciding what files we want to scan and shred and put into the cloud and all those fun things. So, we’ve got our work ahead of us.”

In the meantime, the Chamber continues to work to promote shopping local this holiday season (see last week’s cover story at t.ly/3bPH).

“And the other thing that’s really exciting is that we’re about to be entering into a period of strategic planning for the organization and updating our strategic plan to get us through to 2025,” Tavares added. “And all of this is also going to be taking place during our 125th anniversary year, which is a pretty big anniversary. The Chamber was established in 1897. And so, 2022 is a big year for us in a lot of ways. So, it’s exciting work. We are ready to take it on.”

The Chamber and CVB will remain open five days a week at their 904 E. Shore Dr. location until the move is complete next year. Office hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays. Schedule an appointment by calling (607) 273-7080 or emailing info@tompkinschamber.org or info@visitithaca.com.

Jessica Wickham is the managing editor of Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to them at editorial@vizellamedia.com.