Hook Creative moving to C-Street from downtown

Springfield marketing and web design firm Hook Creative LLC is relocating to the Commercial Street Historic District from its longtime downtown home.

Hook Creative founder and CEO Josh Stewart said the company has outgrown its 1,200-square-foot space at 438 W. McDaniel St. The company purchased an 8,200-square-foot stand-alone building at 1708 N. Robberson Ave., Stewart said, declining to disclose terms. Greene County recorder filings point to a $318,750 deed of trust from Central Bank of the Ozarks related to the purchase on July 17 from Cloud Investments LLC.

“We love being downtown and our goal was to stay in the downtown area, but we’re just out of space,” Stewart said. “This new location’s going to give us a lot more flexibility.”

Stewart said Hook Creative hired general contractor Ross Construction Group LLC and architect The Lamar Johnson Collaborative LLC for the infill work. A Springfield building permit lists the project’s declared valuation at $440,000.

To start off, Hook Creative will occupy about half of the new building, which is located just off C-Street near Cafe Cusco and Pizza House. Stewart said the company would expand into the additional space as demand warrants.

Hook Creative currently employs eight people, with the potential for three more hires in the near term, Stewart said.

“We could grow, I feel like, as much as we want to,” Stewart said. “We just want to make sure that it’s slow, steady, intentional growth.”

The relocation may happen by mid-November in a “best-case scenario,” Stewart said, noting a Jan. 1, 2020, move is the stretch goal.

Founded in 2008, Hook Creative provides website design, film, branding, search engine optimization and content creation. Projects have included websites for the likes of Hotel Vandivort, Phenix Marble Co., Andy’s Frozen Custard and the Greene County Circuit Clerk, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

Stewart also is a co-owner in Big Blanket Co. with Bryan Simpson, Hook Creative’s chief operations officer, and others. Stewart said he and Simpson are still determining whether the Robberson Avenue building would be used for Big Blanket business.