The Chamber of Commerce is moving forward with a revised construction plan to remodel its current 20-year-old office building at the corner of Palisades Blvd. and Verde River Dr.

Renovations will provide more meeting space, a second-floor patio, a “dynamic” visitor’s center and outdoor meeting area for events, Chamber executive director Betsy LaVoie said in a prepared press release.

The cost of the project, construction timetable and source of funding were not addressed in the press release, although LaVoie said the scaled-back version would “save about a million dollars.”

The majority of the Chamber’s revenue comes from the major arts and crafts festivals in November and February, and is supplemented by membership dues.

The Chamber board of directors and former CEO Scott Soldat-Valenzuela had discussed upgrading and expanding the building since the spring of 2018.

Soldat-Valenzuela left the position Sept. 1. LaVoie was named to the job in mid-September.

What residents won’t see, said LaVoie, will be co-working space and leased offices that were included in the original expansion plan proposed by Soldat-Valenzuela.

LaVoie said the project was “already tracking to be over budget” but other reasons also swayed the decision.

“I looked at research done when the previous CEO made these decisions and, quite frankly, this community has changed,” she said. “There are now many options for co-working spaces and additional meeting space offered in the local business community.

“And the last thing we want to do is compete with our own members.”

The business organization purchased an adjacent lot, designed for a new addition, for $70,000 last March.

The Chamber will use the property for outdoor events, said LaVoie. “It is also a great investment. It also gives us many options as we move into the future.”

At one time, the Chamber had thought of moving into Park Place on the Avenue of the Fountains.

The mortgage on the current building, constructed in 1998, was paid in 2005.