Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1.     What is LocateLA?

LocateLA facilitates the process of site selection so that companies can more readily identify the optimal location within the City of Los Angeles to site their business start-up, expansion or relocation.  The website integrates commercial and industrial real estate property listings with key workforce demographics, business information and interactive maps.  Powered by GIS Planning's ZoomProspector software, the data is created and displayed using a Geographic Information System (GIS) that combines layers of information in order to better understand comprehensive details about a specific location.
The site is co-sponsored by the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

2.     How is LocateLA different than other site selection sites/services?

LocateLA is unique. In addition to the commercial property listings and the current-year demographic and economic information that is available, LocateLA offers access to a breadth of important proprietary local data that is critical to relocation and/or expansion decisions. Business site selection is not just about available commercial buildings - the reason people say real estate is all about “location, location, location” is because it is. By using LocateLA, a business is able to analyze and evaluate the site-specific advantages and opportunities of each unique business location.

3.     What are the key features of LocateLA?

The website allows users to search:

• Properties - Search available commercial and industrial properties (land/sites or buildings) based on user-defined property characteristics such as minimum/maximum size, type of use or location criteria including economic incentive zones.  Detailed reports for available properties including asking price, square footage and broker contact information are displayed, along with dynamically generated reports with labor force, demographics, consumer spending and business data.
• Communities - Query a database of Los Angeles neighborhoods and review labor force, demographic and consumer spending data by community. 
• Businesses - Query an extensive database of businesses by name, industry or other business features such as number of employees or estimated annual revenues and explore market synergy or competition within the vicinity of a property.

All results are displayed on an interactive map which allows users to turn on and off layers of GIS information.  Additionally, reports can be exported, printed or saved. 

4.     Who can access LocateLA ?

The website is free and open to the public. The user friendly format allows anyone with an internet connection to access LocateLA’s properties, maps and GIS-based data. LocateLA is a great resource for businesses interested in relocating or expanding their business within the City of Los Angeles, as well as real estate brokers and other professionals and organizations engaged in business attraction and retention efforts.

5.     What is the source of the data?

Property listings are sourced through AIR Commercial Real Estate Association, a leading provider of property data in Southern California. Currently, there are more than 5,000 commercial and industrial property listings within the City of Los Angeles that can be searched through LocateLA . Economic and demographic data is provided by Applied Geographic Solutions, and includes Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data, as well as many other sources.  Business data comes from hundreds of public data sources including IRS records, county courthouse filings, and corporate annual reports, which is verified by third-party researchers.

6.     How often will data be updated?

Property listings from AIR Commercial Real Estate Association are updated weekly. Demographic, consumer expenditure, business and workforce data will be updated yearly providing the most up-to-date information available. Some data will be updated as frequently as necessary to maintain a current and robust database.

7.     How are the searchable geographies defined?

LocateLA allows users to search by Neighborhoods, Sub-Regions or user defined custom parameters drawn on a map. Neighborhoods align with the 35 Community Plan areas within the City of Los Angeles; the Sub-Regions represent clusters of Community Plan areas and correspond to the City’s Area Planning Commissions. To view the boundaries of these geographies, simply click on ‘Overlays’ on the lower right of the map, and turn on ‘Neighborhoods’ or ‘Sub-Regions.’

8.     How does the site connect interested parties with available incentives?

In addition to searching by property characteristics and geography, users can search for properties within a specific economic incentive area, including Redevelopment Project Areas, State Enterprise Zones, Federal Empowerment Zones, New Market Tax Credit Eligible Census Tracts, or Business Improvement Districts. Within the Property Report detail, a section entitled ‘Incentives’ provides links to additional information for eligible incentive areas. Additionally, users can search other incentives specifically applicable to a particular property by clicking the link for the ‘Incentive Finder.’ This will redirect users to the Los Angeles>Works website, a robust resource sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Business Policy.

9.     Who can I contact for more information?

For all questions pertaining to property listings, please contact the broker representative directly. Refer to the broker contact information which can be found at the bottom of the Property Report detail.
For general inquires about the site or to report technical problems, please send an email to LocateLA@cra.lacity.org.