Kalona Chamber of Commerce Building

Believe it or not, the Kalona Chamber of Commerce building on Kalona's main street was designed to address a pressing need in the community - the need for a public restroom in the downtown area!

For years, nothing was done about this problem. But the Kalona Cooperative Telephone Company decided to reach out to the community and design a new building that would fulfill additional much-needed services in Kalona, like having community meeting rooms and a permanent site for the Kalona Chamber of Commerce and tourist information center on Kalona's busiest street. This is KCTC's way of investing in the area for the benefit of the entire Kalona community.

The $230,000 building on 514 B Avenue was financed exclusively by the Kalona Cooperative Telephone Company, without any assistance from tax or government funds. The building was completed in the spring of 1993, a year after the town meeting pointed out the necessity for a new facility for Kalona's tourism industry.

The 5,650 square-feet building is owned by the Kalona Cooperative Telephone Company. The building is air conditioned and fully handicapped accessible. 3,200 square feet at the front of the building are leased to the Kalona Chamber of Commerce, and feature a lobby and two offices, a meeting hall, a kitchen, and public restrooms. The kitchen and meeting hall are available for private rentals. The remaining 2,450 square feet, located at the back of the building, are used for storage and garage space by the KCTC.