Niles Using New Tool to Lure Businesses

If a business is looking for a location, the village of Niles is making it really easy for them to see what's available in Niles.

And that should increase the chances more of them wil locate in the village, said Ross Klicker, the economic development marketing coordinator.

The site, niles.zoomprospector.com, will let business people plug in the size of a property they are looking for, and all the available properties in the village pop up on a results page.

Earlier: Meet Niles' new economic development guy

Businesses can then drill down further for more information, learning traffic counts on the nearby streets, typical wages paid in the area, education and income levels in the area, consumer spending habits and more.

"It markets Niles' assets--the labor force, business environment and other reasons Niles continues to be a great location for business," Klicker said.

"With our constantly changing economy we can't depend on Niles having an automatic abilty to lure businesses."

Only a few other municipalities locally, such as Hoffman Estates and Elk Grove Village, use this application, developed by GIS Planning. However, the Niles version has additional overlay, including ones that provide traffic count and zoning information.

The village website has a hotlink to the new business site. 

While the village will maintain the site, real estate brokers may add information to it, Klicker said.

He introduced the site to about 30 business people Wednesday morning at a Village of Niles Business Owners Breakfast event. 

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