Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP) member municipalities have a new tool for attracting site selectors and investors.
Staff at the CRP, made up of 14 member municipalities, including Calgary, Airdrie and Cochrane, has created the GIS Program for Regional Asset Inventory.
The online tool, which shows land that is for sale or lease across the region, as well as other statistics and demographics, is made to help those businesses considering the area to make a decision about where to locate or expand.
“This is one of the most exciting things that the CRP has initiated, in my mind,” said Mayor Peter Brown, after council was given a presentation on the tool, Dec. 3.
“It’s going to be an amazing tool that everyone will be able to use.”
The tool, which has been endorsed by the Calgary Real Estate Board, is the first of its kind in Alberta, according to Kent Rupert, team leader of Airdrie’s economic development department.
“This is a program that has been in the States for five or six years and we have been talking to them for the past four years,” he said. “This is the premier tool for what it does for economic development.”
Rupert said the CRP has been working on the regional attraction tool for more than a year.
Troy Payne, economic development officer with the CRP who made the presentation, said the tool shows listings, land zoning, detailed property reports, information about demographics, future projections and businesses.
Potential businesses can search any of the 14 municipalities individually or the region as a whole.
“We wanted to create a snapshot of the region for site selectors and investors,” said Payne. “We can pull really great reports that are going to help business owners make those decisions. We can Facebook, Twitter, Google + or use any of the other social media platforms. We can start doing promotions that way.”
Payne added the next step is to market the tool.
Jessica Letizia, regional GIS coordinator for the CRP, said the tool is only limited by the amount of information available.
“We are hoping this becomes a map for the region, not just for economic development,” she said. “We are encouraging people to see what other kinds of pieces of information might be useful in here.”
Alderman Glenda Alexander said the tool is a useful one, but it would require close monitoring to ensure accuracy of statistics and listings.
“It is an amazing tool, but I think it is going to have to be closely maintained,” she said.
To learn more about the tool, visit www.explorecalgaryregion.ca
