Shortly after a December fire destroyed the company’s nearly finished renovation project at the former Ramsey Pontiac dealership on Fourth Street, owners Tom Dunphy and Brian Jones realized that the building, which had been burned down to its foundation, no longer had potential as their company’s new home.

“What had originally attracted us to the Ramsey building was the distinctive character of the old building, and that was no longer there with the building being a complete loss,” Dunphy said. “We knew that we cannot afford to start from scratch and rebuild there.”

Demolition work was completed on the building’s rubble March 29, a few days after Two Rivers Marketing submitted a proposal to the city for financial assistance to help the company relocate to 107 E. Fifth St. Dunphy said he and Jones are about halfway through “the discovery stage” of purchasing the building, which was constructed in 1933 to serve as an automotive parts manufacturing plant for General Motors Co. and was most recently home to Brown Bros. Electric.

“Right now, we are investigating whether there are any major environmental issues with the building, and our contractors will probably be involved with that process through April,” Dunphy said. “We are also waiting for the city to consider a few items before we finalize the purchase.”

Two Rivers Marketing is asking the city to extend the nearby tax abatement area to include the East Fifth Street property and award it an economic development grant of $2,000 per new employee – up to a maximum of 30 new employees – to aid its company’s relocation and expansion, which is estimated to cost about $3 million.

Dunphy said the East Fifth Street location is attractive because of its open floor plan, ample windows and industrial feel that would suit its clients, many of whom are in manufacturing.

“It’s a very interesting building, with its walls being about 80 percent glass,” Dunphy said. “It has the industrial feel that would resemble most of our clients’ workplaces and fit our creative needs.”

Although Dunphy and Jones have not signed papers yet on a new building, they plan to stay downtown, Dunphy said, because they like its growing energy, central location for its employees and its convenience for out-of-town clients coming in from the airport.

“We’re very positive on downtown in general,” he said. “We’re from a young demographic that enjoys the elements of downtown with its new housing and bars and restaurants that are going in.”

Looking back, Dunphy said, maybe Two Rivers’ destroyed location on the other side of the river wasn’t the best place for the company, after all.

“Being so close to the new Events Center, we decided that that site was probably much better suited to an entertainment environment such as retail, a restaurant or hotel, rather than an office,” he said. “I’ve had a few nibbles already, and I hope for a lot more with the site for sale now.”