Fall River officials are betting an online database of available commercial real estate will entice prospective investors and businesses to available space within the city limits – even as other local cities question the effectiveness of the tool.

The database, launched in the last month as part of an initiative of the city’s office of economic development, currently lists more than a hundred properties in the area and is one of just a handful of its kind in the commonwealth.

The research tool has minimal bells and whistles. It consists of one long list of properties available for purchase or lease, as well as land for development opportunities. The site lists brokers’ names and contact information, and can be searched by property type, whether space is for lease or purchase and size.

According to Lynn Creamer, Fall River’s economic development coordinator, the service is meant as a starting point for businesses interested in relocating to the city, or options for existing businesses to expand. But by no means does the city’s work stop at listing properties, she said.

The city will continue to work with businesses and investors to pinpoint the best property for their needs, as it has always done, Creamer told Banker & Tradesman. The database just gives people a jumping-off point to start their research, so when they approach the economic development office for guidance, they have some idea of what’s available.

Different Strokes

Not that Fall River is the first municipality to list commercial properties online. The nearby city of New Bedford operated a database of available commercial real estate until about four years ago. But New Bedford’s economic development staff found it challenging to keep the database current, since deals would happen faster than the site could be updated and new properties were constantly being made available, said Angela Johnston, economic development specialist for New Bedford.

Additionally, the office found people were less likely to contact City Hall with an online system in place, and instead were more apt to strike out on their own – losing the hands-on guidance offered by the economic development office, especially for businesses from out of town.

“It’s a much more personalized service when businesses come in to speak with the executive director of the department to see what their needs are, their location needs and other requirements,” Johnston said. “We’ll even drive them around and do a tour [of the city and appropriate properties], and connect them directly with building owners and investors to make sure the relationship melds together.”

Some cities have variations on what Fall River is doing. Worcester maintains a system that allows prospective tenants or investors to complete a form online with detailed information about space and location requirements. Then its economic development team searches its internal database of properties to find a fitting space.

Paul Morano, Worcester’s director of business assistance, said he had concerns about the potential narrowness of a self-guided database search. If someone searches the site with very specific guidelines without also speaking with a city official, they may not find all properties truly suitable to their needs. That’s detrimental to both the searcher and the city, he said – the business misses out on investment opportunities, and the city loses a new tenant and potential revenue.

Lowell maintains a site similar to Worcester’s, with an online system that receives information from investors or tenants and searches for the right properties on their behalf.

Lowell keeps its database internal because the staff wants to keep track of who is looking for commercial real estate in the city, and tailor the services they offer to a tenant or buyer’s individual needs.

“I don’t think [an online public database] is effective, because if they’re not familiar with the city and … you get very specific, it’s going to give you just a few listings,” said Maria Dickinson, economic development officer for Lowell. “It’s better for them to contact us directly so we can direct them to the right places.”

Refined Brainstorming

But Creamer maintains that the database provides investors at least a partial view of Fall River’s commercial real estate inventory before approaching the economic development office for counsel.

“Before, it was a lot of just the office brainstorming and helping people do their research,” Creamer said.

Now, prospective tenants and investors are already educated on some options in the market, streamlining their search.

“We’ll work with people from there to bring their business into the city,” Creamer added.

One local broker offered kudos to Fall River for the database. Lori Nery, who often does business in Fall River as broker of record for New Bedford-based Coastal Commercial Real Estate, said if the information is current, the database offers a useful tool for brokers, owners looking to sell, and for tenants and potential investors.

“You need to have a place where a developer or consumer can go and look at all the comprehensive listings,” Nery, also incoming president of the Greater New Bedford Board of Realtors, told Banker & Tradesman. “There are some commercial realtors that don’t even have websites. I think it would be a good opportunity for Realtors to look themselves if they have a consumer looking for property. This opens up the whole world to our product. It’s an excellent tool.”