EDCUtah's popular SURE Sites database continues to grow in both functionality and size. Today there are 136 certified sites listings, with 42 more in process. Now, with a new user interface and the addition of Google Maps, the Web-based application has taken on a whole new level of sophistication.

Background
Not familiar with SURE Sites? SURE (Select Utah Real Estate) Sites are buildings or land sites that have received a detailed level of due diligence and screening against a predetermined set of criteria. EDCUtah created the database in 2006 in partnership with the Governor's Office of Economic Development and Rocky Mountain Power. As the state's only qualified site location program, it is designed to meet the needs of relocating and expanding businesses. The database includes some of the best site location opportunities in Utah along with critical information necessary to make sound real estate decisions.

EDCUtah worked with both site selectors and real estate executives to identify the type of information they wanted and the kinds of questions they typically ask. Today SURE Sites is a one-stop-shop for all of their site selection needs. In addition to providing numerical data, SURE Site properties are linked to interactive maps that display geographic information such as the locations of streets, highways, freeways, cities, counties, bodies of water, rivers, railroads, points of interest, major educational facilities and parks. All of the maps are completely interactive and the information displayed is determined by the user.


The picture above is a screen shot of SURE Sites listing all sites in Utah with rail access.

New Functionality
"Everything you can do with Google Maps you can do in the new SURE Sites program," says Sherrie Martell, certified sites manager for EDCUtah, who administers the SURE Sites database. "As before, users can search for land, office or industrial space, and filter by distance to the interstate, rail access, and/or county, but now they can display street, satellite or terrain views of a site." Better yet, she adds, by installing the Google Earth plug-in, a user can conduct a street-level, virtual site visit--all from the Internet.

Martell says the new SURE Sites database is "so much more versatile than before," and from a project standpoint, will help site selectors and corporate real estate executives make even quicker relocation or expansion decisions.

"SURE Sites has proven to be effective resource for site selectors and real estate agents," adds Michael Flynn, vice president of public development for EDCUtah. "Now, with the new interface, the program puts us even further ahead in the due diligence process and gives us the ability to quickly showcase properties, with greater detail, from across the entire state."

Page Views
Interest and use of SURE Sites continues to grow as well. Two of the most recent sites added to the database include the Miller Motorsports Business Park in Tooele County, and the Novell Technology Park in Utah County. The Web application is averaging 2,500 page views per month, with a total of 30,689 page views for the fiscal year (July 2008 through June 2009). SURE Site locations receiving the most page views include:

• Lynndyl Industrial Property -- Millard County
• Heber City Industrial Property -- Wasatch County
• Business Depot Ogden -- Weber County
• Daybreak Commerce Park -- South Jordan -- Salt Lake County
• Anderson -- Geneva Property -- Vineyard, Utah County
• Beaver Industrial Park -- Beaver County
• Landmark -- Salt Lake City -- Salt Lake County
• Garland Industrial Park -- Box Elder County
• First Park Mountain View -- Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County
• Wesport Distribution Center Phase II & III -- Salt Lake City -- Salt Lake County

Leveling the Playing Field
While some listings receive more page views than others, SURE Sites provides the opportunity for users to view available sites across the entire state. "It really levels the playing field," says EDCUtah President and CEO Jeff Edwards. "SURE Sites is especially beneficial for developments in rural Utah locations, where site features might be optimal but the resources to advertise are limited. SURE Sites is free to use by anyone, EDCUtah investor or not."

The qualification process requires property stakeholders to answer questions related to infrastructure, quality of life, local economy and costs, and submit that data to EDCUtah via SURE Sites. A login ID and password are required to add a property listing to the database. For more information contact Martell by calling (801) 328-8839 or e-mailing smartell@edcutah.org.

In addition to its usefulness as a due diligence tool for site selectors, corporate real estate executives and other users, SURE Sites is also used extensively by EDCUtah. "We research and submit SURE Sites on every project that comes through our door," says Flynn. "So far this year we have submitted 200 SURE sites to projects we are working on, 48 of which have resulted in site visits."