Explore the map.
If you'd rather scan visually instead of filtering by criteria, Explore lets you pan around the map and click any parcel that catches your eye. Useful when you have a target neighborhood, want to spot opportunities you wouldn't think to filter for, or just want to see what's out there.
Step-by-step walkthrough
Explore is one of the three home-screen entry paths (alongside Analyze and Discover). Pan, zoom, click — find sites by eye instead of by filter.
Open Explore from the home screen
From the platform homepage, click Explore. The full-screen map opens with parcel boundaries visible at sufficient zoom levels.
Pan and zoom to your area
Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom. As you zoom in, parcel boundaries appear as outlined polygons. Hovering any parcel highlights it; clicking selects it.
Optional: turn on GIS layers
The layer toggle (top-right of the map) lets you overlay data on top of the base map. Useful when you're hunting for parcels that meet a specific spatial criterion. Common layers:
- Flood zones — find or avoid sites in FEMA-designated areas
- Opportunity zones — surface QOZ-designated parcels
- Transit corridors — proximity to bus/rail for transit-oriented projects
- School districts — single-family product targeting
- Zoning overlays — by-right vs. overlay-district parcels
Stack multiple layers to find parcels that satisfy several conditions at once.
firebase://clips/explore-step3-layers.mp4
Click a parcel to start a study
Click any parcel on the map. Algoma opens it as a full property analysis — same workflow as searching by address, just initiated from the map instead. From there you can run capacity scenarios, pull comps, and export.
When to use Discover instead. Explore is great for visual scanning. If you have specific criteria (lot size, asset class, USPS vacancy, etc.), Discover will surface matches faster than scanning manually.
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