Powerful New Site Location Website Will Help Attract Companies to Pennsylvania

News provided by

Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development

Jun 18, 2010, 11:00 ET

HARRISBURG, Pa., June 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania can now boast that it offers the best and most accurate technology to help companies looking to locate or expand in the state, Pennsylvania's top economic development official said today.

PASiteSearch.com, which has allowed users to find listings of available properties and buildings in the state, has been completely revamped to include up-to-date community demographics, labor and infrastructure assets, as well as workforce and expenditure reports for properties of interest. GIS mapping technology is also an important part of the website.

"This website gives Pennsylvania a distinct advantage," said Department of Community and Economic Development acting Secretary Austin Burke. "With the new technology, PASiteSearch puts the commonwealth at the cutting-edge of economic development by serving as a 24-7, one-stop source of vital information."

According to GIS Planning Inc., the company that designed and built the system, PASiteSearch is the first website to integrate site-selection information from Pennsylvania and the United States into a single, user-friendly site.

PASiteSearch is also integrated with GIS Planning's national site selection search engine, ZoomProspector.com, which allows visitors worldwide to conduct a national search of communities and commercial properties that match specific criteria.

When a community or commercial property in Pennsylvania matches a business search on ZoomProspector, users can immediately click through to the new website to get the information that will help them analyze the unique business advantages offered by the Pennsylvania site.

The new technology puts demographic analysis, wage data, community search, drive time, Google Street View, Google Earth and a fully integrated social media component a click away.

The overhauled technology will be the primary tool of the Governor's Action Team as it conducts site and building searches for businesses seeking to locate or expand operations in Pennsylvania. GAT is a group of seasoned economic development officials that reports directly to Governor Rendell and helps more than 200 businesses annually with their site search needs.

In developing PASiteSearch, DCED worked with local economic development partners and Team Pennsylvania Foundation to ensure that the most critical site-selection information would be available to users.

"The success of our relationship with the Department of Community and Economic Development continues to grow with the announcement of this new project that not only transforms the PA SiteSearch website, but the face of economic development across Pennsylvania," said Rich Hudic, Team Pennsylvania Foundation president and CEO. "This enhancement makes SiteSearch a unique, indispensable economic development tool and it gives Pennsylvania a major advantage over other states that are competing to retain, attract and expand business."

PASiteSearch can be accessed at www.PASiteSearch.com or through www.newpa.com/locate.

"This is another example of Governor Rendell, DCED, and Team Pennsylvania Foundation leading economic development efforts in Pennsylvania with aggressive and innovative strategies," said Anatalio Ubalde, CEO and co-founder of GIS Planning. "GIS Planning is excited to partner with DCED and Team Pennsylvania, and we look forward to the business growth and investment this new technology will generate for the commonwealth."

For more information about PASiteSearch or other DCED programs focused on attracting businesses, visit www.newPA.com or call 1-866-466-3972.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development