Kelsey Kanspedos, RIDC Development Manager, Receives NAIOP’s 2024 Developing Leaders Award

Kelsey Kanspedos, Development Manager at RIDC, was one of five commercial real estate professionals to receive NAIOP’s prestigious 2024 Developing Leaders Award. The annual award honors exceptional professionals under the age of 35 for their outstanding professional accomplishments, strong leadership and significant community involvement. The winners were recognized during NAIOP’s CRE.Converge 2024 in Las Vegas. […]

TEQ: Film industry, innovation to bring Carrie Furnace site back to life

Dating back to the 1880s and part of Andrew Carnegie’s US Steel for the better part of a century, the Carrie blast furnaces once produced 1,000 tons of iron a day. Now, with the remains of two of those furnaces still standing as a reminder of the region’s history, the Carrie Furnace site is poised […]

How RIDC is making Mon Valley a model for revitalization

With Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro making economic development a priority with new programs and hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, the Mon Valley could be a key regional focus. Communities that have deteriorated could be restored and with dedicated resources, the Mon Valley has the potential to thrive once again. Article can be read […]

Office of Transformation Report Highlights Business Attraction and Job Creation Opportunities

“The Shapiro Administration has brought new energy and resources to the effort to attract, retain and grow job creating businesses,” said Donald F. Smith, Jr., RIDC President. “Other regions are working aggressively to attract these companies and it’s gratifying to see the Commonwealth playing a leadership role in making us more competitive.” Read article in […]

New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park gets $6 million from state

“This is a strategic location for economic development in our region,” said Tim White, RIDC Senior Vice President. “These funds will enable us to move forward with the capital improvements necessary to make the park more desirable to the kind of job creating businesses we are working to attract.” Media Coverage: TribLIVE – New Kensington […]

RIDC Summer Newsletter 2024

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Developing Priority Sites in a Regional Economic Ecosystem

Unlike some other markets around the country, the economy of Pittsburgh is part of a regional ecosystem with multiple centers of gravity and economic activity. What does it mean to be a “regional economy?” It means collaboration and cooperation among counties, municipalities, the commonwealth, economic development organizations, foundations and job creating businesses — recognizing that […]

Innovation Accelerators an Important Part of the Economic Growth Cycle

Successful long-term economic development strategies often proceed on multiple tracks, leveraging the resources and assets available throughout a region to grow a multi-faceted job base. Gov. Josh. Shapiro’s plan to invest $500 million in site development is one such strategy. Job-creating companies are being lured to other states with impressive incentives. If we don’t have […]

Smith’s Viewpoint: Commonwealth Needs Grand Trifecta to Close Big Deals

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the state’s legislative leadership are debating a new infusion of funding for sites and buildings in the Commonwealth. This is a critical and necessary investment for Pennsylvania to be competitive. One of the main reasons we don’t attract as many large employers as we should is a shortage of sites […]

RIDC Spring Newsletter 2024

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Creating jobs in the Mon Valley: A Decades-Long Effort Bears Fruit

When RIDC acquired the former Westinghouse campus in Turtle Creek 35 years ago — intent on renovating the decaying buildings and revitalizing the abandoned site — it was the first in a series of moves over decades that have transformed several old industrial sites and provided homes for job creating companies in the Mon Valley.

Blooming from Blight: Earth Day Spotlight on Green Redevelopment in Pittsburgh

Across the Pittsburgh region, there are historic industrial sites that, while abandoned and left to blight after the fall of steel and other industries, have since been brought back to life, redeveloped and revitalized into homes for companies that are driving the innovation of today. Giving new life to old structures is in and of […]

Table of Experts: Partnerships Key to Attracting Business and Jobs to Region

“You couldn’t do a project like this without all the partners that we have,” said RIDC President Don Smith at a roundtable discussion with Jason Rigone, Executive Director of Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corporation; Rick Siger, Secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development; and Victor Mroczkowski, Executive Vice President of Operations for Re:Build […]