TechLinks
By: Angela Hendrix
SAVANNAH, Georgia - August 27, 2008 The Savannah Economic Development Authority is bringing Savannah to Atlanta to launch its newly restructured Web site, www.seda.org. The event will showcase the best of Savannah including its resources, talent and quality of life.
In order to remain nationally competitive in marketing Savannah and the state of Georgia, SEDA partnered with Atlanta-based BinaryBus to create a one of a kind, customized program that features available property in Savannah/Chatham County from 5,000 square feet to 1,400 acres. SEDA is one of only few economic development agencies in the country to offer such a customized database that allows users to review available properties and provides demographic and business analysis with the ability to save the results in a personal portfolio.
“As the field of economic development evolves and the economy changes, SEDA fully intends to keep Savannah in the forefront,” Mr. Lynn Pitts, Sr. Vice President of SEDA said. “We pride ourselves on staying ahead of the curve, and these types of adjustments are the natural progression of our services.”
Harnessing the power of web-based GIS (geographic information systems), users can search from among these properties, create portfolios, view a dynamically changing map, and print site-specific information and demographic reports. Search criterion includes square footage, acreage, ceiling height, distance to interstate/seaport/airport, rail access, utilities requirements, etc.
Since site location consultants – the professionals who advise companies looking to relocate or expand their operations – increasingly make first cuts based solely on information they gather online, it is critical to place Savannah/Chatham County’s community and business attributes at their fingertips. The SEDA property database is exportable to State economic development agencies.
“SEDA’s program is one of very few custom made Web 2.0 applications that runs on AreGIS Server 9.3, which is cutting-edge mapping software,” said Ron Mulberry, president of BinaryBus. “This definitely gives them an advantage during the site-selection stage.”
SEDA currently maintains a database of over 120 properties in Chatham County and works closely with Savannah brokers and landowners to keep the information accurate.
The SEDA staff spent nearly a year working with Shannon James, LLC, Smack Dab Studios, and Paragon Design Group to design and build the new SEDA site. SEDA plans to promote the website nationally and internationally throughout the summer, beginning with a website launch event for allies, partners and clients based in Atlanta.
