Congratulations. You’ve finally narrowed your choice down to one or two possible locations. Now it’s time to actually start looking at some real estate.
The local economic development organization, along with some local commercial real estate brokers, will be ready to show you some land or buildings they think – based upon what you tell them – will meet your company’s needs.
At this stage, you’re probably sick and tired of the entire site selection process and are ready to just be done with the whole thing. Now’s not the time to slack off, though.
Up to this point, land- and building-specific talk has been fairly general. Now it’s time to get specific, and you will have to live with the consequences of your decision, for better or worse.
Besides the physical appearance of the building or land, here are 11 important items to put on your check list.
Is there an adequate building already in place? After all, moving into an existing facility, and doing the retrofitting, is usually a lot cheaper than building a facility from scratch. More importantly, it will enable the company to be up and running sooner. This is extremely important to expanding companies and the fact that you have an existing building might give you a major leg up on the competition.
Is there adequate room for expansion? This is important whether the site has an existing building on it or not. Businesses prosper. Companies grow. Will your site accommodate that growth? Remember, company officials are in an optimistic mood at this stage; otherwise, why would they be considering a new facility? You need to feed on that optimism.
Is there adequate transportation access to site? Are there roads or highways in place to support the new operation? Find out which modes of transportation are most important to the new company’s type of operation, and key on them. It could be an airport, or an interstate highway, or a deep water port. Whatever it is, make sure your site(s) are reasonably accessible and connectable.
Is the basic infrastructure in place and is it adequate to the company’s needs? Showing a company a virgin piece of land is often a risky proposition. That doesn’t mean that it’s a show-stopper, but it sure helps to at least have electricity, water and gas -- as well as at least a gravel or dirt road -- out to the site.
Is the site properly zoned so that the company can do what they want to do with the plot of land or existing building? Remember, at the end of the whole process, the new company still needs to be able to manufacture and distribute widgets from their new location. If there are any zoning ordinances or environmental restrictions that will preclude the company’s smooth transition into a manufacturing environment, everyone should know that from the very beginning. Otherwise, the reputation you earn may set back economic development in your community for a generation.
Is the site free of environmental problems? The site you have in mind might be perfect as far as the previous criteria is concerned because it was the former site of paint or battery factory. However, there might be some “EPA issues” involved with the site, if you know what I mean. No one wants to any expensive clean up liability.
Is there clear title to the property? Do you know who owns it? Are you sure it’s really still available? Does it involve multiple pieces of property with multiple owners?
Is the cost of the land or the price of the building reasonable? Has a price been established and do you know what it is? How confident are you that, once the land or building owner hears that there is a prospect in sight, the price will not escalate? This becomes a more important question the greater the number of property owners involved.
Do you know what financial incentives may come into play with this site? Which federal, state and local incentives might this company be eligible for with this piece of property? Don’t forget the utility companies in this area. One thing you can be sure of: the company will be looking for ways to help defray some of the enormous costs associated with building or relocating their plant.
Is adequate parking available for the company’s workers? Make sure you know what the standard ratio is, and then try to be a little better. Remember that round-the-clock operations with multiple work shifts generally require more parking than do straight eight to five operations.
Finally, is there someone in a position to fix problems you encountered with this list and, more importantly, do you know who that person is? Problems will arise because no place is perfect. However, being able to address and correct any stumbling blocks as they occur will create a sense of confidence on the part of the company executives that you know what you’re doing and that their business will be in good company in your community.
Of course, this isn’t all you need to consider but, if you’re satisfied with the answers you received to these questions, you should be in pretty good shape.
NOTE: This article originally appeared in the October 1997 issue of Inside E.D. , a monthly newsletter for economic development professionals published by the editors of Expansion Management.
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