Tech and marketing firms move to downtown Eugene, drawn by high-speed fiber
Set on becoming the go-to tech partner for clients throughout the Pacific Northwest, a Eugene tech firm recently moved to the city’s core from the Coburg Road area.
The firm, Partnered Solutions IT, its sister company, Ruby Porter Marketing & Design — and the firms’ 19 employees — are leasing space in a small building on West 11th Avenue, between Olive and Willamette streets.
Partnered Solutions IT manages information technology services, develops custom applications and designs websites, among other services. Ruby Porter Marketing & Design conducts digital marketing campaigns, and provides copywriting, design and other services.
Both companies are owned by Robert Steck.
The firms serve mostly small-to-medium businesses in the Eugene area, but they are growing rapidly and plan to add five employees in the next six months, said Chris Hayes, vice president of business development for the companies.
Steck, chief executive of Partnered Solutions IT, said he was drawn to downtown largely because of a joint city/tech industry fiber project that is expanding high-speed Internet service in Eugene’s core.
“Once it became clear that we would be able to have access to fiber, I immediately wanted to move downtown,” Steck said in a news release. “We need Internet access that can scale with our growing business.”
Partnered Solutions IT was founded in 2011. In late 2012, it merged with another Eugene company it did business with, Ruby Porter Marketing & Design, adding marketing and branding services.
Last August, Partnered Solutions IT acquired Creative Advertising Services, a local advertising agency, bringing advertising services into the fold.
Partnered Solutions IT and Ruby Porter Marketing & Design chose to lease most of the small office building on West 11th Avenue instead of renting elsewhere downtown, Hayes said. The firm got to design an interior layout to meet its needs, and it’s “a surprisingly affordable location right in the heart of downtown where we wanted to be due to the city’s revitalization project,” he said.
The building was constructed in 1946. It was the home of Smith & Crakes Insurance for many years, but had been vacant for the past three years, Hayes said.
The building is owned by JP Hammer Properties. The cost of the remodel was not available on Wednesday.
Partnered Solutions IT and Ruby Porter Marketing & Design will celebrate the move to 58 W. 11th Ave. on March 10, with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 4 p.m. and housewarming party from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.