After decades of paying rent, the Prince George Chamber of Commerce will again be masters of their domain.
In what appeared to be a unanimous decision at a special general meeting Wednesday evening, members voted in favour of purchasing their current Vancouver Street home.
Over the past three years, the chamber's building committee has investigated and negotiated the best option in becoming homeowners. They will team up with neighbour Linda Rempel to purchase the buildings at 886 and 890 Vancouver St. for $465,000. The Chamber of Commerce and Rempel will share a mortgage
"This building is adequate for what we want... and more than adequate for our current needs and for our longer-term needs," said building committee co-chair Roy Spooner. ser to none of the membership's dues would be spent putting a roof over the staff's head. "We like the idea that we can control our environment. We can shape our environment to meet our needs."
The chamber is sharing the cost with Rempel because both buildings are on the same legal title and the city advised that attempts to subdivide the property would not likely be approved.
With the current owners, James Munk and Hans Naegelin, putting the property on the market, a move would have been imminent, according to a letter from chamber board president Derek Dougherty. New leaseholds and moving expenses would have been cost prohibitive.
The last time the chamber owned its own building was in the 1980s, according to one chamber member.
"We've spent an awful lot more money in rent than it would have cost us to buy a building," Spooner said, adding that had a purchase been made years ago, less or clo
