The Los Angeles Business Journal has reported that the city of Los Angeles has opened a new online searchable database that will help it maximize the value of its property and aid in the creation of affordable housing and homeless services.

“City-owned property is one of our most valuable assets, and we must maximize its value to advance critical priorities like building affordable housing and expanding homeless services,” Mayor Gil Garcetti said. “This innovative new portal will streamline our property management, and help us put more of our land to work serving our communities’ needs.”

The database will allow city staff to manage the property more efficiently and the public to track the development of community assets like police and fire stations, libraries and public parks, Garcetti’s office said. The portal is available at lacity.org/property.

“I’m delighted that we now have a thorough, accurate and publicly available database listing all city-owned properties,” said Councilman Paul Krekorian, chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Job Creation, who worked with Garcetti on the database. “It is a fantastic tool that will enable the city and others to evaluate the full range of assets the city owns and get inventive about ways to use them for economic development and job creation throughout Los Angeles.”

The portal will be used to help identify uses for vacant spaces controlled by departments such as the Department of Transportation, the Economic and Workforce Development Department and Los Angeles Public Library, Garcetti’s office said.