Site location decision-making has been transformed through advances in Internet technology. One of the most important improvements for site selection professionals and teams is access to GIS-powered site selection Web sites with online mapping analysis of local data. Geographic Information Systems integrate databases with characteristics and digital maps. Those corporations in the hunt will find innovative economic development organizations across the country provide these enhanced online services.

Nearly 1 billion people use the Internet. In the United States that includes 72 percent of adults and 92 percent of college graduates.[1]  For site location professionals Internet use is pervasive. Says Bob Ady, president, Ady International Co.: “Virtually all site searches conducted by expert intermediaries begin with a Web site search — before a contact of any other kind. If the site does not have the information required and/or is difficult to use, the community could be eliminated during this initial step. And the sad part is that a community will never know that it was being considered.” 

Businesses Demand Online Information

A 2005 study shows that online sources of information have dramatically increased their influence on the perceptions of site location professionals. Online sources grew 144 percent and had the largest growth of any information source compared to the same survey conducted in 2002. The largest increase in effectiveness of all marketing techniques was 56 percent growth for Web sites.[2]  Assuming this trend continues, the Internet/Web site will become the No. 1 most effective marketing technique this year, even surpassing economic developers visiting corporate real estate executives.

Quality information about a community is critical for corporate real estate professionals as they gather data relevant to their business expansion or relocation projects. Site selection experts rely on the speed and accessibility of the Internet for community information because the timeline for making business expansion or relocation evaluations has dramatically shortened in recent years.  

Says Gene DePrez, leader of Global Location Strategies/Plant Location International for IBM Business Consulting Services: “The Internet and GIS, as well as other electronic means of developing a virtual scan of a region and community, will become ever more important in screening long lists of candidate areas. This is driven both by the speed of corporate and investor decision making, but also by the need to find niche opportunities in locations that may not be as well known or documented.”

GIS is a Must-have

Today, the desirability of a business location is driven by a combination of community characteristics including employee skills, cost of salaries, location of other businesses and industries, educational facilities, transportation, land-use, amenities, parcel information, available sites and buildings, utilities, incentive zones and environmental factors. All these elements have a geographic component, which explains why corporate real estate professionals value the use of Internet GIS analysis of local data when evaluating a community.

GIS-based site selection programs integrated with local GIS data are rapidly appearing on economic development Web sites. The communities realize site consultants are looking for GIS information that is local and that they can't find anywhere else, says Jon Roberts, managing director of Austin-based TIP Strategies (www.tipstrategies.com).  

Web-based GIS brings value to corporate real estate professionals by quickly answering fundamental questions about a community's characteristics. Quality Internet GIS economic development Web sites provide visitors the ability to search for available property, create demographic analysis by user-defined radius and drive-time, generate detailed maps showing nearby businesses by industry, and interactively view map “layers” of local GIS data such as parcel boundaries, transportation, aerial photography, incentive zones, land use designations and numerous other geographic information layers.

This allows site selectors to save countless days of research that might require information gathering from multiple local, regional or state agencies and instead get it in a few minutes on one Web site. Site location experts benefit from getting out of line at city hall and simply getting online.

Of course the key to the best Web sites is their use of local GIS data, which is usually created by the government agencies. This is the most valuable data because it is objective, accurate information that is typically only available from local government sources.

DePrez emphasizes this point saying, “GIS and online mapping information, aerial photos and other visual features that help develop a perspective of a region or community would be extremely useful, as long as they are accurate and non-promotional in character.”

The Origin

The first Web-based GIS for site selection integrating property search, user-defined demographic analysis, lists of nearby businesses and interactive mapping was developed for the city of Vallejo, Calif., in 1998 by GIS Planning Inc., an economic development technology company (www.gisplanning.com). The Wall Street Journal announced the launch of Vallejo's Web site (www.vallejosite.com) bringing considerable attention to this innovation. The Web site went on to receive numerous accolades including the Council for Urban Economic Development Gold Award and was recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce as one of the innovative local economic development programs in the nation.[3] 

“The reason Web-based GIS has spread so quickly and is being embraced by economic development organizations large and small is that it delivers results,” says Anatalio Ubalde, a partner at GIS Planning who is currently managing an implementation of their technology for New York City. “Communities want job growth and economic developers need the right tools to succeed. Our ZoomProspector implementations deliver both.”

Online Site Selection in Action

Today, economic development organizations throughout the nation are leveraging the value of
Web-based online mapping analysis to assist businesses with finding the optimal investment location in their communities. From small, rural communities to large, metropolitan areas, organizations are attracting, growing and retaining businesses with their GIS Web site programs.

Oklahoma City officials used their GIS Web site (www.okcedis.com) to successfully attract the well-publicized expansion of computer-maker Dell Inc. into their region. Dell's corporate real estate staff used the Web site to assist their site selection decision and chose a 60-acre site to build a new 120,000-square-foot facility.  The project will employ more than 1,300 people. “It was a good tool to use to determine what properties were available,” says Peter Kaharl, senior manager, corporate real estate and construction, Dell Inc. “It made the process easier because I could go in there myself and look at it. A picture of the site also helped put a reference point with it.

“Every search has its unique characteristics,” Kaharl continues. “We looked at hotels, places for people to eat, traffic conditions around the site now and at the time we will occupy it.” Oklahoma City economic development leadership also recognizes the value of their Web site. Says Roy Williams, president, Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce: “The company made that decision looking at 122 cities in North and South America. The critical factor to Dell was its access and sustainability to workforce. And this particular tool helped us show them specifically the attributes of the labor force at multiple sites within the central part of the state. So had we not had this tool I think we would have struggled to try to put those pictures together for Dell.” 

The Oregon Economic Development Association reports that virtually every significant traded sector recruitment account has used the www.OregonProspector.com Web site either before or during their decision process. The Web site was first used to identify the location of Lowe's site for its $100 million, 1.3-million-square-foot distribution center in the city of Lebanon, which will employ 400 people and will rank as the third-largest building in Oregon.

The Web site also benefits rural communities. “A company out of California was looking for buildings in Oregon, went on OregonProspector with its specs, and found the perfect building in La Grande,” says Jill Miles, national business development officer, state of Oregon.

“It relocated, and attributed it to OregonProspector. I serve 36 rural communities, and OregonProspector allows them to compete nationally.”

The Internet is changing the nature of site selection. Corporate executives and site selection professionals will find GIS Web-based data instantly provides answers about a location, allowing companies to determine if it would be ideal for the short list.

End Notes

[1] Pew Internet & American Life Project, September 2005 Tracking Survey.

2 “The Corporate View: Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing” by Development Counselors International. September 2005.

3 Innovative Local Economic Development Programs. Jan Youtie, Project Director. Published by the U.S. Department of Commerce. November 1999.

[1] Pew Internet & American Life Project, September 2005 Tracking Survey.

[2] “The Corporate View: Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing” by Development Counselors International. September 2005.

[3] Innovative Local Economic Development Programs. Jan Youtie, Project Director. Published by the U.S. Department of Commerce. November 1999.