The site-selection team.

• Author: Hoefer, Heather A.
• Position: Real estate development planning

Who helps businesses decide where to expand?

It all starts with the real-estate broker, says Jim Shook Jr., vice president of Shook Commercial Realty in Lafayette. "There's an old saying, 'the brokers are the grease in the gears of commerce,'" he says.

A real estate broker can assist company executives as they determine exactly who should be involved in site selection. For example, an architect may be required to determine if a site or existing building will provide ample space. If building or construction is involved, an attorney will investigate zoning and permitting requirements.

Before naming members of the site-selection team, companies must consider several issues. First, companies differ depending on their size and line of work. Large companies can afford to hire site-selection specialists, while smaller companies may leave the site-selection planning to one or two people.

A smaller site-selection team has one substantial advantage: confidentiality. "If one person comes into the community, they will make no waves. They can walk from the chamber of commerce to the economic development center without attention. But larger companies, which may have private planes and what-not, will turn a lot of heads," says Steve Miller, president of Emgee-Citizens Realty in Evansville.

Jim Harding, president of Fort Wayne-based Harding Dahm and Co., agrees that discretion is important when concealing key information from competitors. Harding has worked with successful, big-name companies that have gone to such extremes as using code names and renting cars so that license plates cannot be traced.

What types of experts are needed on a site-selection team may depend on the intended use of the new facility. Companies seeking sites for factories may hire contractors and attorneys to offer advice on local environmental laws. Companies trying to find office space may hire human resources personnel to examine the abilities and requirements of the local workforce, or they may hire firms to help relocate existing employees to the destination site. "You're going to have to park people, feed them lunch, provide all the amenities," Shook says.

Although individual companies have specific needs, there's a general model that site-selection teams usually follow. There should be an internal team that includes two or more representatives from the company seeking an expansion location. That team should include someone fairly high on the corporate ladder, someone who can...