Conway firms said near LR move

Sources: Inuvo Inc., PrivacyStar working on lease deal

Conway-based tech companies Inuvo and PrivacyStar are considering a move into office space in the Museum Center building in Little Rock’s River Market District.
Conway-based tech companies Inuvo and PrivacyStar are considering a move into office space in the Museum Center building in Little Rock’s River Market District.

Conway-based tech firms Inuvo Inc. and PrivacyStar are negotiating a lease to move into office space in Little Rock's River Market District, sources familiar with the talks said Tuesday.

Inuvo and PrivacyStar have not signed a lease for space in the Museum Center building at 500 President Clinton Ave., owned by Little Rock Newspapers Inc., said Kyle Baldwin, controller for WEHCO Media, Inc.

Baldwin said a lease is being negotiated for space in the building, which also houses the Arkansas Museum of Discovery.

Asked about the move, Inuvo Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Howe said Tuesday in a text message that a lease had not been signed, "but it is a very real possibility given the alternatives we've been investigating as our current lease expires."

Details about the negotiations, including the terms of the lease, have not been disclosed.

The brick building is the former location of the printing press for the Arkansas Democrat before it was converted into office space, Baldwin said.

The 200,000-square-foot building is split into several levels: a river level, a street level, and a second, third and fourth floor.

Other tenants include restaurants Damgoode Pies and Sonny Williams' Steak Room and Merkle, a data marketing firm.

PrivacyStar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles Morgan declined to say how many employees might move to Little Rock if a lease deal is reached. He said PrivacyStar and Inuvo together employ more than 100 people.

Morgan, who is also a director for Inuvo, said details will be released at a news conference Thursday morning at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Both Howe and Morgan were executives at Little Rock-based Acxiom, at which Morgan served as chairman and chief executive officer and Howe as chief marketing officer.

PrivacyStar offers a smartphone application for Android and iPhone devices that users can use to block unwanted calls and to find out who called through a reverse directory search.

When the company moved into new offices and expanded in Conway in 2012, it received $224,000 from the Governor's Quick Action Closing Fund for equipment and materials.

At the time, PrivacyStar also received an income tax credit of 1 percent of payroll on new jobs for five years through the Advantage Arkansas program and sales tax refunds on building materials, taxable machinery and equipment through the Tax Back program.

Inuvo, an internet marketing and technology company, moved its headquarters from New York City to Conway in 2013. At the time of the move, the company received $1.75 million from the Governor's Quick Action Closing Fund to help with moving and equipment costs.

The Arkansas Economic Development Commission was not aware of plans by the companies to lease space in Little Rock, said spokesman Scott Hardin.

Business on 04/08/2015

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