By JAMES FINK
jfink@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1611

A revamped commercial listing system of area properties has made its official debut.

The system, jointly operated by Buffalo Niagara Enterprise and the Western New York chapter of New York State Commercial Association of Realtors, is designed to be more user-friendly while generating sales leads.

The site, http://www.BuffaloNiagaraCLS.com, has listings and key demographic data free of charge.

Site selectors often consider such information crucial when narrowing real estate choices for clients.

"The new platform is a lot bigger and more functional than what we had before," said Paula Blanchard, a broker with RealtyUSA and marketing chairman for the Western New York chapter of NYSCAR.

Several hundred up already

Blanchard said more than 500 properties have been listed, ranging from raw, vacant land to offices in suburban parks and downtown addresses.

The key to the new system, run by GIS Planning and its ZoomProspector technology, is fine-tuning information sought by site selectors.

Tom Kucharski, BNE president and CEO, said more than 90 percent of the initial site-selection process is done via online services.

"The immediate access to critical business development and site-specific information provided through the new system tells people that we are a progressive community that is serious about attracting their business investment," Kucharski said.

The new information includes the following:

• Demographics, based on user input for distance, drive time and consumer expenditure.

• Geographic workforce and business data.

• Community reports.

• Google-based mapping including Google Streetview and Google Earth options.

• Customized information such as distance to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, major highways and geographic incentives.

Looking for more

John Fletcher, NYSCAR WNY chapter president, said his organization is reaching out to the commercial broker community in order to get as many listings as possible.

Major selling points are the free listing service and free access for those frequenting the site.

"The goal is to make the data base as inclusive as possible by removing all the barriers that previously existed," Blanchard said.