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December 30, 2008
Henrietta "Noon" Martinez Richard
January 1, 2009
A new state-run Web site is advertising properties available for development in Terrebonne Parish to site selectors from outside the parish.
The Terrebonne Economic Development Authority is working to identify properties to place on the site, called the Louisiana Site Selection Center, said Mike Ferdinand, TEDA CEO.
Entergy helped to develop the Site Selection Center through a cooperative endeavor agreement with Louisiana Economic Development, Ferdinand said.
The site contains Geographic Information System (GIS) data, along with demographic and other information to advertise properties across the state.
GIS uses displays and maps, and has overlays to incorporate new information that may arrive, Ferdinand explained.
Industrial properties and buildings, large commercial tracts of land, warehouses, and large residential sites are being placed on the site.
“This is brand-new, state of the art,” Ferdinand said. “It puts us on an even scale with other communities. It gives site selectors a site to go to.”
Site selectors, business representatives who search for locations to expand or relocate, regularly use Web sites to look for available properties.
The new Web site, started in August, is intended to showcase available properties, according to a TEDA news release.
TEDA had been working for two years to create an interactive site to advertise properties for site selectors, but the cost had been prohibitive, said TEDA marketing director Michelle Edwards in the release.
Every economic development organization in Louisiana can join their existing Web site to the new state Web site using an interface wrapper.
TEDA is working with Terrebonne Parish government to incorporate GIS data from the parish government Web site into the Site Selection Center.
“This format is what is used on other sites for site selectors to use,” Ferdinand said. “By doing a single consistent database, it assures us a uniform data platform for site selectors.”
Energy companies, like Entergy, traditionally have helped businesses to expand and relocate, Ferdinand said.
The new Web site can be found at www.louisianasiteselection. com.
Louisiana Site Selection Center, a state-run Web site, is advertising properties available for development in Terrebonne Parish. * Photo by KYLE CARRIER
