New Life for the Old City Hall Building

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After several years of sitting vacant, the second floor of the old City Hall building will see new life as the headquarters for the Hancock Chamber of Commerce.
 
- by Lisa Monti

The Hancock Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber) is moving into the second floor of the Historic City Hall building on Second Street and will manage the building under a lease agreement approved unanimously by the City Council on Tuesday.
 
Mayor Mike Favre said the chamber is “a good fit” for the building, which is being renovated. The work is expected to be completed around April 1.
 

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 The second floor will be utilized as headquarters for the Chamber office, according to Tish Williams, Chamber executive director. The city and the Chamber will work together “to turn the first floor into a resource for the community for public events and meetings,” according to a chamber announcement of the agreement.
 
​Constructed in 1905, the landmark building has housed restaurants and other ventures in recent years but has been unoccupied for the last few years.
 
The Chamber has been operating on the second floor of the historic Hancock Whitney Bank building at Main Street and Beach Boulevard for eight years in space donated by the bank. Last year the bank said it was returning the branch to full service and needs the space for its employees.
 
The Chamber will pay the city $750 a month for the City Hall’s second floor space plus a pro-rata share of the cost of utilities based on square footage. They will also provide support to post content to the City’s website, a service valued at over $600 per month.
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