Nixa chamber to move across town

After five years on West Mount Vernon Street adjacent to the Nixa Hardware and Seed Co. store, the Nixa Area Chamber of Commerce is moving 2 miles across town.

Infill is underway by Oak Grove Construction Services Inc. on the 3,000-square-foot former home of All-American Rental Inc., 106 W. Sherman Way in the Nixa Plaza Shopping Center. Chamber Executive Director Tammy Mast said infill costs are roughly $40,000, with potential for extra furniture purchases. Chamber Membership Development Coordinator Terry Allen said crews are creating multiple offices and a large meeting space.

“It was time for a move. We needed more space in general,” he said. “This also gives us ample parking for events. Right now, we share the lot with the hardware store and other businesses and it can get kind of crowded.”

With work expected to wrap up around mid-February and chamber staff moving in before that month’s end, Allen said the initiative has been on the chamber’s agenda for a year.

“When Tammy came on less than a year ago, this was something they wanted to see happen,” he said.

While roughly the same size of its current space, Mast said custom infill work gives the chamber more options. Allen and staff are most wanting a larger meeting space in the new location. While still not large enough to house the 450-member organization’s monthly general membership meetings, Allen said the new space can accommodate subcommittee meetings and will be open to all chamber members for business use and for rent to the public.

“It’s no secret we have a shortage of meeting space in Nixa,” he said. “This gives our members another option.”