FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2007

Business prospects looking for available buildings or sites in Licking County will have an easier task thanks to an economic development partnership. An online marketing tool is now available to help businesses find commercial and industrial properties in Licking County while also providing economic development officials in Licking County with access to business development leads, building data, and real estate broker contact information.

A collaborative effort of the Licking County Economic Development office, Licking County Chamber of Commerce, and the Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority is behind this new capability for promoting available sites and buildings in Licking County. The capability is made possible under a contract with Xceligent, a nationwide commercial property database system. The Xceligent system includes the ability for all available sites and buildings to be searched via the Licking County Chamber website at http://www.lickingcountychamber.com/econdev.

“Xceligent is a professional, consistent approach to responding to prospects,” said Licking County Chamber President Cheri Hottinger. “In today’s globally-competitive quest for development, it’s necessary to be responsive and make current information available to prospects in an instant. This system makes that possible.”

Licking County Economic Development manager Rob Klinger and his office maintain a state-led lead-generation system called e-ProCure. “The new partnership will complement our lead-response capability by making it possible to provide more property listings and business data to prospects,” said Klinger. “Site selectors we work with have been demanding immediate access to available sites and buildings. Now we have it. Site selectors, developers, and clients looking for manufacturing or commercial property can give us their criteria and Racie Young will be happy to run a countywide search.”

Among the properties marketed on the system are Port Authority-owned buildings and sites. “The Xceligent System gives the Port Authority an ability to more easily market our available properties,” said Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority Executive Director Rick Platt. “In the few short weeks since the system was begun, I’ve been able to use the system to not only market our available properties but also use the system’s other capabilities to provide a more complete response to business prospects. It works!”