The original 1951 Denison Fire Hall was a point of community pride, protecting lives and property investments for decades. Over time, larger facilities were needed and the space was converted to a community room. Eventually it was vacated, creating a bit of an eyesore for our thriving Uptown. Now the space will once again serve a critical function and generate community pride.

Denison has a strong history of growing things ourselves. The vast majority of businesses that shape today’s local economy started right here with good ideas and strong community support. Ignite creates a program that inspires, guides and grows novel startup businesses into the next generation of area employers. It’s more than real estate — it’s on-site professional guidance and a supportive ecosystem of likeminded startups.

The Chamber & Development Council (CDC) has assisted businesses large and small with hundreds of millions of dollars of investments in our communities. The new offices provide a higher level of professionalism for the CDC to host potential investors and to sell Crawford County as a cutting-edge location to grow their business.

Civic structures are excellent when they are in use, but vacant? They drain community budgets and, of course, they don’t generate taxes or pay for utilities. For the first time in history, this property will create property tax and utility revenue that will help improve other parts of the community.

We’ve seen it across the county many times before — when one property sees major improvements, the neighbors begin to take notice. Eventually, nearby properties are driven to make improvements of their own. Ignite, following the historic renovation of Denison City Hall, is a significant turnaround in neighborhood appearances. Investment begets investment. We can’t wait to see what happens across the rest of the area.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the CDC, and for the first time in our history, we will own our own offices. If we can quickly eliminate all project debt, this sets up the CDC for a very stable and bright future. A strong Chamber is at the heart of a strong community, able to take on bigger and more impactful projects to benefit our surrounding communities.

Any gift of $250 or higher will add your name to our permanent donor wall for all to see as they enter Ignite and the new CDC offices.

All donors contributing $100 or more will be featured in our celebratory project press release and featured in local media coverage. Donors of $2,500 or more can participate in an exclusive check signing ceremony.

100% of your gift will be applied toward the Ignite redevelopment, directly impacting business creation and growth for many decades to come.