Noblesville goes prospecting for business

Web site lists available properties and has about 9,600 hits since June launch

By Chris Sikich
Chris.Sikich@TheNoblesvilleLedger.com

NOBLESVILLE -- Not content to take a back-seat approach to drawing businesses and economic development, Noblesville has started a Web site listing an inventory of available properties.

The city is paying San Francisco-based GIS Planning about $60,000 to host noblesvilleprospector.com for the next three years. The site has 176 properties listed so far. Economic Development Department Director Kevin Kelly expects the range to be at 175-200 over the years as properties come on and off the market.

"I believe it is going to be helpful in promoting available real estate in Noblesville," Kelly said, noting more businesses equals more tax dollars.

Several Indiana entities are already using GIS Planning technology, including Hendricks County Economic Development Partnership, Indianapolis, Lafayette-West Lafayette Development Corporation, Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership and Duke Energy.

Indianapolis Principal Planner Bob Glenn said his city has been using the site since 2004, and it's drawn more than 1 million hits this year alone. Prospective businesses contact the sellers or leasers directly with information provided on the site, so Glenn is not sure of the success rate. He said having the inventory on a Web site is a major advantage for economic development, because users don't have to wait for someone to answer a phone.

He said major cities nationwide have been using the technology for years, and he's not surprised to see it trickling down to smaller communities.

"It provides equal footing and levels the playing field," he said.

Kelly and his staff have been scouring Noblesville for vacant buildings and available land and are loading the information onto noblesvilleprospector.com, including available square footage, listing prices and photos. The site has had about 9,600 hits since its soft launch in June, although Kelly noted he's just now finishing the inventory and beginning marketing efforts.

Eventually, he hopes property owners and brokers will enter their own data.

After finding a property, users can search for information on the market within less than a mile and up to 20 miles away, including demographics, wages, consumer expenditures and types of businesses.

Users can view properties on an interactive map, and then pick out local amenities they'd like to see highlighted, including fire stations, golf courses, hospitals, libraries, parks, planning jurisdictions, schools, townships and bodies of water.

Kelly entered listings last week for two retail centers along the Ind. 37 commercial corridor that are represented by Tim Murray of Resource Commerce Real Estate. Murray hasn't heard of any leads yet, but is glad the city is taking a strong approach.

"I'm excited about the kind of exposure we can get," he said.