Business & Tech

Medford Chamber Leaving Route 112 Building

Declining membership led to the decision to leave, chamber president said.

The Medford Chamber of Commerce have voted Thursday to leave the office building they have occupied on Route 112 at the intersection of Jamaica Avenue in Medford.

According to an announcement from chamber president Michael Gorton, the expense of keeping the building, which is owned by the Medford Independent Fire District, exceeds the chamber’s income.

“Over the last three years the expense of the building has far outweighed the income that we receive. Between taxes, overhead and insurance on the building it costs us over $9,000 a year,” Gorton wrote.

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Gorton also wrote that the economy has seen the chamber’s membership drop, and that it has been difficult to gain new members despite stating that the chamber is active and viable in the Medford community.

In a phone call Friday with Patch, Gorton said that the chamber plans to be out of the building by December, and that the Medford Fire Department hopes to convert the building into a fire department museum.

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Gorton said that for keeping the building to be viable, the chamber would require at least 75 members. However this year that membership has dipped to around 60.

The building itself was mainly for some meetings and item storage, Gorton said. Those items will be moved into a different storage location for the time being, he said.

Gorton said that by eliminating the building’s expense, the Chamber would hopefully be able to save up for programs they have not had the ability to do in the past few years such as bringing back a scholarship for high school seniors.


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