The new building for the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce will cost about $450,000 more than expected, bringing the total cost of the project closer to $4 million.

The addition of a basement and a significant jump in the cost of construction materials because of Hurricane Katrina bumped up the price from $3.3 million, project planners said.

A basement added to the final design of the building for storage has brought the two-story structure to 17,500 square feet, an increase from the 15,000 square feet anticipated in February.

Construction bids for what Doug Gorman, chairman of the chamber’s building committee, calls the first major investment into downtown revitalization opened last Thursday.

&#8220We got 50 bids in,” Gorman said. &#8220We are pleased with those numbers. We are still analyzing those with our construction manager, Scott, Murphy and Daniel.”

Gorman said the contracts will be awarded next week.

By mid-August, Gorman expects the steel frame of the building to be put in at the site at College Street and Seventh Avenue.

The foundation of the building is under construction. Completion of the building is tentatively set for early spring 2007.

&#8220All of our subcontractors and our construction manager are committed to getting this done as quickly as possible and within budget,” Gorman said.

And with about a month remaining in the chamber’s capital campaign, the goal of not having a mortgage at the end of campaign’s five years is still in reach.

&#8220We thought we had to borrow some additional monies to complete the project,” campaign co-chairman Charles Moore said. &#8220Now it looks like we won’t have to borrow any money. We will have enough money in pledges.”

To date, the chamber’s capital campaign, &#8220First Impressions Last,” has received over $2.3 million payable over a five-year period.

&#8220We’re pleased with the response we’ve gotten from our chamber partners so far,” said Rick Kelley, chairman of the chamber of commerce.

Kelley expects the campaign to raise about $3 million, which, with $750,000 from the sale of the chamber’s current location at 812 State St., covers the cost of the project, he said.

The telethon and mass mailing to chamber partners going on for the last three weeks also continue to raise optimism for the chamber.

Moore, who received two pledges this morning, said the deadline for pledges from the telethon and mass mailing is July 1.

&#8220At this point, everyone is optimistic about (the campaign), including our consultant,” Moore said.

The project’s consultant is Jerry Bartels of Fremont Development Inc. in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the chamber has yet to release who or what will have naming rights to the new building and parts of it.

&#8220I feel real good about (the campaign),” Moore said. &#8220There will be an announcement forthcoming, but that’s several weeks off. The response has been overwhelming.”

In September, there will be an activity at the site to recognize and thank donors, according to Kelley.

&#8220This building will provide a favorable impression to clients who visit this community that this chamber is progressive, dynamic and technology-savvy,” he said.