I thought this was pretty interesting, from the Journal Record

Shopping for space: Chamber website helps retailers find the perfect spot

By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record November 10, 2014

OKLAHOMA CITY – Stores searching for the best location in the city can be overwhelmed by its size, and they may not know which neighborhoods would best serve their business. That’s where the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s new retail website can help.

The site, okcretail.com, offers descriptions of neighborhoods such as the Plaza District and regional districts like the Interstate 240 corridor, and even success stories like Keith and Heather Paul from A Good Egg Dining Group. The information includes details such as nearby universities, average annual income and nearby major employers.

Chamber Retail Development and Recruitment Manager Tammy Fate said the site shows that the city and the chamber are proactively recruiting retail. With many cities’ budgets based solely on sales tax, getting those revenue-generating venues helps create growth, she said.

The site also has a property search tool powered by the real estate data tracking company Xceligent. The chamber uses the same tool on its GreaterOklahomaCity.com site. Businesses can search for retail spaces by size or property type, and even look for buildings or empty sites. They can find properties that may not be along the Northwest Expressway or near Quail Springs Mall.

“The whole map shows where those pockets are, from what’s happening at a big-box standpoint, but also smaller, local businesses as well,” Fate said.

Once someone finds a property, the site has the broker’s information, or the potential tenant can use the broker and developer list to learn more about properties as well.

CB Richard Ellis of Oklahoma Vice President Stuart Graham said he thinks the site will provide a starting point for people looking into the market.

“(Brokers) probably won’t send them back there, but hopefully they come to us with preliminary knowledge of what might be available,” Graham said.

He said a broker could then talk about properties he knows about, but might not be on the website because they are not officially available yet.

Graham said the site helps future businesses see how friendly the retail market is in Oklahoma City.

“I think any time you make retail property readily available to the marketplace, that’s a good thing,” he said. “I think that’s another positive step on the chamber’s part to make data more readily available to retailers.”

Since the chamber is using the Xceligent information, cities in The Greater Oklahoma City Partnership can use the property locator on their economic development sites as well. Edmond Economic Development Authority Associate Director Toni Weinmeister said she’s able to see that the property-finding tool gets about 50 views a month. A previous property finding tool had much fewer views than that, she said.

“We’re so grateful that through the Oklahoma City partnership we’re able to get that on the website as well,” she said. “I know that’s one of the top things that people look at on our site.”