Chamber Information Building To Be Relocated

ORLEANS – The Orleans Chamber of Commerce has found someone to take over the vacated visitor information building on Eldredge Park Way.

Judy Lindahl, the chamber’s executive director, said on Aug. 7 that the chamber, which owns the structure next to the Eversource substation, has found a private citizen interested in relocating the building to their property in town.

“They want the building,” she said. “It will be moved by October for private use.”

Lindahl said it is too soon to provide specific details about the move, including the identity of the person assuming control of the building and where it is being relocated to.

The information building, which has been under the chamber’s control since 1979, has long served as a hub for vacationers and visitors looking for directions or other information about the town. But the rundown state of the structure led the chamber to move information operations out of the building last summer and over to its headquarters at 44 Main St.

The chamber and the town, which holds the lease on the Eldredge Park Way property owned by Eversource, had been working unsuccessfully since the fall to find a person or organization interested in taking over the building. Town Manager Kim Newman said earlier this month that apart from occasional interest in the building that came into the town secondhand, finding someone to transfer the building over to had been difficult.

“This is exactly what we wanted,” she said. “We wanted a creative solution for a usable structure rather than just a straight up demo.”

Public Works Director Rich Waldo said in an email Friday that the DPW will assist by providing “logistical support” in moving the building. He said the move “ideally” will happen after Oct. 15, when it is anticipated there will be less traffic on the roadways.

Once the building is relocated, the town must work with Eversource on a plan for the Eldredge Park Way property going forward. That could involve ending the lease, which Newman said would require the town to return the property to its original condition, or working out a different use for the site. That could involve using the land to help accommodate traffic improvements in the area, she said.

“We would basically negotiate either release from the terms or something else in exchange,” she said.

Email Ryan Bray at ryan@capecodchronicle.com