The Chestnut Hill Business Association is wrapping up its last week of packing before the organization moves its headquarters down the Hill from its current spot at 8514 Germantown Ave. to a new one located behind Gateway Cleaners at 10 E. Springfield Ave. After six years at the top of the Hill in a larger-than-necessary 3,000 sq. ft. space, the organization is moving south to downsize.

“We don’t need all of this space to do what we have to do,” CHBA executive director Courtney O’Neill told the Local. “And this new location is an office space where you can shut a door and have a private conversation if you need to.”

In fact, the CHBA’s current space was always supposed to be temporary. Six years ago, the CHBA and its landlord, Richard Snowden of Bowman Properties, planned to move the CHBA into 8335 Germantown Ave, next door to Campbell’s restaurant, but there was ongoing construction in that building – partly due to the addition of an elevator. As a result, Snowden put the CHBA across from Starbucks on a temporary basis – and did so rent-free. 

The plan was to stay there just for a couple of months while the work next to Campbell’s was completed. However, due to delays in the permitting process, the work took longer than anticipated. After that, the Covid-19 pandemic got in the way. 

“The pandemic definitely put a kink in the plans as far as obtaining a new office space goes,” said O’Neill. “Things just kept coming up.”

An added bonus to being located at the bottom of the hill, O’Neill said, is that the move signals to some businesses on the Hill’s lower portion that the CHBA has their backs.

“The lower Hill sometimes feels forgotten,” O’Neill said. “It kind of feels like a statement. We believe in the businesses down there.”