A software technology company has signed a letter of intent to come to Jefferson.
Pillar Technology is looking to locate an office in Jefferson at 204-206 East State Street, adjacent to Sierra Community Theatre. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Pillar Technology has three other office locations, including in Des Moines. If the Greene County School District’s $21.48 million bond passes, the software development company will work with the school district, as well as other surrounding k-12 school districts and Iowa Central Community College, to begin a software workforce training program. The program will be an education strand that will be offered through the regional career academy.
The building on East State Street will be renovated and Pillar is calling it “The Forge.” The first floor will have a training bay and an office bay open for community events. The second floor will be an open office space that can also serve as a co-working space.
Pillar is projecting bringing in 25-30 full time jobs. Plans also include teaching coding and computer science skills in the middle school grades or earlier. Iowa Central Community College can then offer advanced classes to high schoolers through the regional career academy. Upon graduation, students can enter an 8-18 month training program. Those that complete the training program will have the opportunity to apply for a full time job with Pillar. The starting salary would be between $55,000-$60,000.
Chris Deal explains how he initiated the conversation with Linc Kroeger, who works with Pillar, of how they chose Jefferson as a possible location.
“I got to work with Pillar when they did their Des Moines project. I got to know Linc and the company really well. It was a random one off conversation with Linc where he said they wanted to try something new, try something different and expand into rural Iowa. I said, ‘Well that’s awesome, what about Jefferson, Iowa?’ And he said, ‘Well do you guys have a community college?’ And I said, ‘Not yet, but we’ve got an idea.’ So that’s how they first heard about Greene County.”
However, if the bond doesn’t pass, Kroeger tells Raccoon Valley Radio they would need to take a step back and work with the community to see if there is another viable option.
A video detailing the project is available at https://vimeo.com/248334088/10f50b4cdc and www.futurereadyiowa.com. For more information about Pillar Technology, visit www.pillartechnology.com.