City In Closed Session With Sale Of Historic Visitor Center Building

The Visitors Center and Colter Museum run by New Haven’s Chamber of Commerce is being negotiated for sale to Pinckney Bend under closed session with no public input. The Chamber of Commerce has operated it as a Visitors Center and was “shocked” and disappointed to find out that the City of New Haven was negotiating the building’s sale, as it now puts the Visitors Center’s future in flux. Rachel Terbrock, New Haven Chamber director, expressed her concerns about the particulars of the Chamber’s options in a letter. Terbrock brings up the notion that, because the Chamber has been operating the Visitors Center under a lease agreement with the city since 2011, they should have been notified of any potential sales.

Back in 2003-04, New Haven volunteers cleaned out the old firehouse and prepared it for the bicentennial celebration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The newly formed museum and center was themed around displays of John Colter, one of the Corp of Discovery’s members, who settled near New Haven after his adventures and may very well be buried nearby. After the anniversary celebration, the center was operated by volunteers until the Chamber staffed it starting in 2011. 

The questions the Chamber Director posits are 1) Does New Haven continue having a visitors center, 2) Where should it be located? and 3) What will become of the current visitors center building?

In recent years, New Haven has made several improvements to the building. Built in the late 1800s, the building served as a jail and as New Haven’s first firehouse. It could possibly be eligible for placement on the National Register of Historic Places based on these factors.

Tara Steffens at Pinckney Bend stated that they were interested in the building since they own the other lot just east of the visitors center building, and they have plans to build a barrel storage facility there. Due to legal issues involving barrel storage and the explosive potentialities therein, Pinckney Bend is looking into building a new expanded tasting room in place of the visitors center. Steffens also stated that the Chamber or Preservation Society could have the building if they want to move it to a different location.

Tara stressed that she wants to do everything possible to make it an easy transition and that plans for the building site are planned for 5 years or so into the future. Placement on the National Register of Historic Places, however, could affect any such plans.

Because of the nature of the closed session concerning the sale, no comment has been issued by the city at this time. Once the issue is settled, the Independent News will publish the details.