CRESTVIEW — Businesses seeking to relocate to Okaloosa County can use a new online tool to narrow their search for a building site.
Economic Development Council Director Nathan Sparks introduced OkaloosaSites.com to city leaders, calling it a “portal for a business decision maker, no matter where they are.”
The new site currently lists 413 commercial properties, including available buildings as well as vacant lots, throughout the county.
Crestview area sites include the 22,500-square-foot former L3 Crestview Aerospace administrative building and the 25,000-square-foot former BAE Systems office and warehouse near Airport Road.
Available building sites listed include 2.52 acres in the Industrial Air Park, also near Bob Sikes Airport.
“Some are small, some are very large industrial buildings,” Sparks said. “What's so exciting is real-time searches can be conducted anywhere.”
Providing plenty of details, including photos of available sites, gives the county an edge when a company begins a search for a new home, Sparks said.
“If you don't have that information at real-time, they move on to the next guy,” he said.
The site also allows researchers to overlay a county map with demographic and labor information, population statistics and other factors businesses consider when relocating.
Satellite and street-level property views are other site features.
“This is truly where economic development is heading,” Sparks said.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: New online tool lets relocating companies find an Okaloosa home