Rogers Lowell Chamber completes renovation of downtown offices

The Rogers Lowell Chamber (RLC) celebrated the grand reopening of its renovated office and visitors center on May 23 at 317 W. Walnut St. CEO Raymond Burns said the event marked a significant milestone in the chamber’s ongoing strategic plan, which aims to modernize its facilities and prepare for future growth.

During construction, two staff members continued to work from a safe space in the downtown office to ensure it remained open to the public. The rest of the staff was relocated to Hunt Tower at 5100 West JB Hunt Drive for eight months.

The renovation increased RLC’s footprint from 9,000 to 12,000 square feet. Rogers firms Hunt Ventures, Nabholz Construction, Core Architects and Benchmark Group led the project.

Burns said 23 staff members occupy the renovated building. RLC has occupied the property, formerly a Firestone Tire dealership, since November 1997. The renovation project includes a large conference room sponsored by the Arvest Foundation, and will be called the Arvest Conference Room at RLC. A second conference room is named in honor of notable community member and past chairman emeritus Dick Trammel and will be called the Dick Trammel Conference Room.

Burns said OneDigital, Tucker Furniture and Appliance, Up to Par Technology, Advanced Telecom Group, Pearson Kelly, Frame Shoppe, Lakeshore Recycling Services and Benchmark Group all donated items to fill the space.

RLC celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2022 and is one of the state’s largest chambers, with over 2,000 member businesses and 4,000 individual representatives.

Chamber officials did not disclose the renovation investment cost.