Site selectors can now see an available site in Jonesboro’s Craighead Technology Park without ever leaving their desks. 3D mapping is here, and Jonesboro Unlimited is putting it to use to give potential clients better data on sites they are considering for future projects.
This spring, Jonesboro Unlimited hired local drone pilot Mike McGuirt to provide 3D maps of the available properties in the Craighead Technology Park. McGuirt is a retired Air Force veteran and ROTC instructor at Westside Consolidated Schools. Over the period of two weeks, McGuirt and his drone took thousands of images of the eight available properties in the park. McGuirt believes this technology can change the way a company approaches a project.
“Depending on how the map is used, 2D and 3D views have unique qualities. Let's say for example you have a facility situated on 250 acres of land and you're having a meeting to discuss an expansion to the facility. Where would be the best location?" McGuirt says.
The birds-eye view is comprised of several hundred or even several thousand still images that are stitched together to create the 3D model. McGuirt says he programs the drone using mapping software and setting the camera to take pictures at a pre-set interval. The drone follows the flight path and photo instructions and those images get uploaded to a server through a company called Drone Deploy. McGuirt says it can take anywhere from four to twenty-four hours to complete the file, depending on the number of images.
“Once the stitching process is complete you have the ability to view the map in 2D or 3D. There are also tools available to measure elevation, distance, volume calculations and look at plant health,” McGuirt says.
Chris Schastok with CBRE-Chicago says this technology is as good as you can get without being on-site.
“A lot of people still want to see it with own eyes; however, this is a close second,” Schastok said.
The Craighead Technology Park is already highly thought of in site-selection circles. Jim Bruce, President of Business Planning Facility Consultants, calls the Craighead Technology Park “a beautiful facility.”
Mark Young, the President, and CEO of Jonesboro Unlimited says the new 3D images of the available sites at Craighead Technology Park are providing one more piece of a marketing strategy that makes Jonesboro such an attractive place for business.
“Being able to provide site selectors and engineers true, 3D images of available sites is an incredible tool to have at our disposal. Aerial photos are good, but to be able to see the 3D images and rotate them at virtually any angle gives prospective investors a much better look at a site,” Young said.
Currently, Craighead Technology Park has eight available sites totaling over 800 acres. All sites are shovel ready. To read more about Craighead Technology Park, its available locations, and the 3D imagery Click.
