Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Hailey Welcome Center set to open in January

LEED-certified building expected to house Chamber of Commerce


By TONY EVANS
Express Staff Writer

The new Interpretive Center at the Hailey rodeo grounds could soon house the Hailey Chamber of Commerce, and the building could be renamed the Hailey Welcome Center. Photo by David N. Seelig

The new Hailey rodeo grounds interpretive center, a showcase of sustainable design, is scheduled for opening in January. The $322,000 cost of the building is being paid through a $3.5 million bond passed by Hailey voters two years ago to redevelop the entire rodeo grounds.

Local contractor Sawtooth Construction has been working on the project since May 3.

The Hailey City Council is expected to authorize a lease on Nov. 5 for the Hailey Chamber of Commerce to occupy the building next to state Highway 75 at the southern entrance to the city. The council could also at that time authorize a name change of the building to the Hailey Welcome Center.

The chamber will move from an office near Blaine Manor on Main Street.

“I think it’s a beautiful building,” said chamber Executive Director Heather LaMonica Deckard. “It will be a lovely place to welcome visitors to the Wood River Valley.”

In addition to marking the south entrance to the city, the Welcome Center will boast a      Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, marking its design as low in producing carbon emissions and otherwise environmentally friendly.

In order to meet LEED certification goals, Sawtooth Construction has been working with the city and Ruscitto Latham Blanton architects to find materials made from recycled products, sourced regionally and low in potentially toxic volatile organic compounds. In addition, Sawtooth Construction will be diverting half its construction waste from the landfill for recycling and using materials salvaged from other buildings.

The building was designed to reduce typical water and energy use by 20-30 percent.

The exhibit space within the Welcome Center building will encompass about 700 square feet of the 1,700-square-foot building. The Hailey Chamber of Commerce will occupy the remaining space, with offices and restrooms, to greet visitors coming to Hailey or to the exhibit gallery.

There will be a mural by local artist Tom Teitge in the gallery area of the building. In coming months, a historical exhibit featuring artifacts relating to the rodeo grounds site will also be installed in the building.

The city had been gathering memorabilia from the early days of the Sawtooth Rangers’ Fourth of July Rodeo, including oral histories, photographs and riding tack. The objects will be arranged along with skating exhibits and other objects related to the rodeo grounds’ storied past.


Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com




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