|
Marketing tool to fuel business growth
throughout Illinois
Send a link to a friend
[MARCH
5, 2004]
SPRINGFIELD --
On Wednesday Gov. Rod
Blagojevich announced an innovative new marketing tool designed to
promote local business growth and job retention by enabling
community economic development agencies to promote, through a state
website, properties available in their area for business relocation.
The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity's website now
has a listing of community profiles and available real estate sites
throughout the state, vastly increasing a community's exposure to
site selectors seeking industrial and commercial real estate
opportunities. Location One, which is aimed at helping business
creation and retention, is the newest innovation from Opportunity
Returns, the historic, comprehensive plan designed to spur economic
growth and create jobs.
|
|
"Because over 85 percent of
real estate site selection searches now begin on the Web, it is
nearly impossible to be a viable candidate for relocation without
having listings marketed on the Internet. Making Location One
available on the DCEO website will assure communities that their
available building space is highly visible and easily accessible,
which will increase its potential customer base. Ultimately, this
will help create and retain business and provide a real lift to the
economic vitality of each region," Gov. Blagojevich said.
The regional economic
development plans, which focus state resources on the specific
strengths and needs of each of the state's 10 regions, are developed
largely from the input of local business, labor and public sector
leaders. Each region's priorities are communicated through a series
of economic summits, business roundtables and meetings with those
local leaders. At several such gatherings, local stakeholders
expressed the need to better market the sites and buildings that are
available in regions across the state. Location One seeks to
accomplish this objective.
Location One can be found on
the DCEO website at
www.illinoisbiz.biz or
www.commerce.state.il.us by clicking on the brown
"Buildings and Sites Locator" button. DCEO also offers system
access and training to communities that want to make use of the
listing site.
[to top of second column in
this article]
 |
"Access to the most current
information is critical to doing business at any level and in any
environment. More and more, the Internet is becoming the greatest
provider of critical information. By using our website as a
marketing tool for each region, we are linking two vital players in
the economy: buyers and sellers. Transactions produce a dual benefit
-- the sale of real estate brings money into the local economy,
while the purchased property means attracting a new business,
creating new jobs and increasing the economic competitiveness for
the community," DCEO Director Jack Lavin said.
The Opportunity Returns
regional economic development plan is the most aggressive,
comprehensive approach to creating jobs in Illinois' history. Since
the governor believes that a one-size-fits-all approach to economic
development just doesn't work, he has divided the state into 10
regions -- finding areas with common economic strengths and needs
and developing a plan with specific actions for each region. This
grass-roots effort is a product of significant outreach over several
months with business, civic and labor leaders, and elected
officials. Opportunity Returns contains tangible actions to make
each region more accessible, more marketable, more entrepreneurial
and more attractive to business. Each plan is tailored to
deliver real results that local businesses will see, feel and,
hopefully, profit from.
The
governor has already unveiled plans for six of the 10 regions:
Northern Stateline, Northwest, Southern, North Central, Southwest
and West Central. He will announce the plans for the East Central,
Southeast, Central and Northeast regions in the coming months.
[News release
from the governor's office]
 |
