Regional Industrial Development Corporation - RIDC

Great news for economic development in Southwestern PA.

Editorial: Shapiro's SITES funding will make Pa. competitive with other states Harrisburg leaders passed a state budget with comparably little friction this year, a welcome change following last year’s delays and acrimony. While...

Celebrating an exciting milestone for Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Innovation Center at Hazelwood Green, neighboring RIDC’s Mill 19. RIDC Senior Vice President Tim White was on hand for the topping off ceremony, celebrating the placement of the building's final beam.

"It's great news for economic development," said Donald F. Smith, Jr., RIDC President, quoted in The Bond Buyer. Shapiro's proposal said the DCED will prioritize industries including agriculture and manufacturing in awarding the grants.

Pennsylvania's budget grants governor's economic development wishlist The legislature dodged broad changes to education or transit, but bet big on business-friendly initiatives.

Donald F. Smith, Jr., RIDC President, which is working to redevelop major sites throughout the region, expects the site fund and the changes to come to help to speed up permitting will prove potent together.

"I think it’s a really important combination, either of which would be important progress but together they're much more significant," said Don Smith. "We need to be able to deliver these sites quickly to compete with other regions and states that have sites ready to go."

Experts expect $500M PA SITES program to quickly generate major investment in Pittsburgh area - Pittsburgh Business Times Experts expect $500M site program to create investment in Pittsburgh.

KaliVir Immunotherapeutics, an RIDC tenant in O'Hara Industrial Park, secures FDA approval to hold cancer treatment clinical trials.

KaliVir Immunotherapeutics secures FDA approval to hold cancer treatment clinical trials - Pittsburgh Business Times The O'Hara Township-based company expects to begin the trials within three months.

☀ RIDC's Summer Newsletter ☀
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News from Hazelwood Green.

Taking the field: Hazelwood Green youth sports complex ready to advance A $10 million youth sports complex to be built at an old Hazelwood coke works site is nearly ready for prime time. Representatives for developer Tishman...

Robotics Factory, a RIDC tenant at Tech Forge, announces its newest cohort. All five companies will "receive up to $100,000 in investment, six months of structured programing, access to industry experts and 12 months of office space at the Robotics Factory's Lawrenceville facility."

Robotics Factory announces second round of accelerate program participants, previous members have raised millions - Pittsburgh Business Times The Robotics Factory accepted five companies to its second accelerate cohort. Previous participants have gone on to raise millions of dollars in seed funding.

Article: https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2024/07/01/don-smith-regional-industrial-development-hazelwood-green/stories/202406300038

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 different parts of the region have different attributes, appealing to different types and sizes of companies and that growth in any part of the region can spark growth in the surrounding communities.

“Partnerships make big deals — the ones that benefit the entire region — possible,” said Donald F. Smith, Jr., president of the Regional Industrial Development Corporation.

Developing priority sites in a regional economic ecosystem - Pittsburgh Business Times Large employers scouting for sites are interested in the region as a whole and often tour many locations before making a decision.

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 sites ready for development, we can’t even get to the starting line.

But nurturing startup entrepreneurs and smaller companies is also a critical part of the equation. Working with these companies, nurturing them in the early stages, anticipating their needs and supporting their success as they mature, can create a cycle of growth that benefits the entire region.

Read more:

Innovation Accelerators an important part of the economic growth cycle - Pittsburgh Business Times RIDC is focused on working with startup entrepreneurs and smaller companies, nurturing them in the early stages, anticipating their needs and supporting their success as they mature, which can create a cycle of growth that benefits the entire region.

More signs of progress at New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park. A new sign welcomes visitors to the park as the build out of Re:Build Manufacturing’s new space continues.

Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corporation

Student art heats up at Hazelwood's Industrial Arts Workshop youth welding program In the cavernous, noisy workspace of the Industrial Arts Workshop, tucked away on Herbert Way in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood, sparks are flying. Almost every afternoon the room fills with high-school-age students, who pull on protective gear and hurry back to their personal projects. Metal...

RIDC Mill 19 won a 2024 WLA Merit Award in Large Landscape Design! The 2024 World Landscape Architecture Professional Awards celebrate the pinnacle of design excellence, innovation, and sustainability in landscape architecture and received over 250 entries from over 40 different countries. From urban parks and green spaces to restorative ecological projects, the entries reflect a broad spectrum of visionary solutions addressing global challenges.

Congrats to the design team TEN x TEN and MSR Design!

Winners announced for the 2024 WLA Professional Awards World Landscape Architecture is proud to announce the winners of the 2024 WLA Professional Awards for the following categories

Phase 1 of Re:Build Manufacturing’s new advanced manufacturing facility in New Kensington is officially complete, and Re:Build has started manufacturing operations. RIDC has already begun Phase 2 of the project which will be completed later this year. The New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park is a partnership of RIDC and Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corporation. Re:Build is bringing new, high-quality manufacturing jobs to our region.

About NKAMP: https://ridc.org/park/new-kensington-advanced-manufacturing-park/

Kudos to the Pittsburgh Technology Council for working to keep tech talent in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Technology Council pushes to keep laid off Motional employees in the area - Pittsburgh Business Times Earlier this month, autonomous vehicle company Motional laid off 154 of its Pittsburgh area employees. The Pittsburgh Technology Council is pushing to retain the talent in the region to help keep Pittsburgh's status as a hub for the AV industry.

Congratulations to Pittsburgh Magazine on its Golden Quill awards and to writer Maria Sciullo on being a finalist for her story on RIDC’s plans for revitalizing the Carrie Furnace site.

How Pittsburgh Really Will Be Hollywood on the Mon In A Couple of Years | Pittsburgh Magazine In the shadow of the historical Carrie Furnace complex, film studios are on the rise.

As the Pittsburgh region’s economy continues its evolution from heavy industry to technology and R&D, and ultimately toward commercialization and manufacturing — both homegrown and through attraction of companies from other regions — we need to recognize some of the unique assets that set us apart.

RIDC’s patient, mission-driven approach revitalizes dormant sites, creates homes for companies and jobs - Pittsburgh Business Times Many of the properties RIDC takes on are tangible symbols of industrial decline, rapidly deteriorating, with environmental issues making them challenging to redevelop, or even to demolish.

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 that can be developed quickly for job-creating companies.

As important as this funding for sites will be, however, it is not sufficient on its own. The Commonwealth needs the grand trifecta of funding for sites, permitting reform and flexible incentive funding to close the big, job-creating deals that other states are winning.

Read More:

Smith's Viewpoint: Commonwealth needs grand trifecta to close big deals - Pittsburgh Business Times "The Commonwealth needs the grand trifecta of funding for sites, permitting reform and flexible incentive funding to close the big, job-creating deals that other states are winning."

RIDC’s Don Smith and Tim White congratulate Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corporation’s Jason Rigone on receiving the Supporter of Development award at NAIOP Pittsburgh’s annual banquet.

The RIDC team accepts award for Best Build To Suit Industrial project at this year’s annual NAIOP Pittsburgh banquet.

Governor Shapiro announces $2 million grant from PA Sites for continued development of the Carrie Furnace site. https://dced.pa.gov/newsroom/governor-shapiro-announces-10-6-million-in-new-funding-for-site-development-pilot-program-to-create-more-shovel-ready-sites-for-businesses-in-pennsylvania/

Can't wait! 🥳

Dr. Parag Batavia, Neya Systems’s Founder and Strategic Advisor, consulted with RIDC and the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce on Forefront, the autonomy study that helped lead to $62.7 million in Build Back Better funding. Earlier this week, DCED Secretary Rick Siger visited Neya Systems to discuss how the Governor’s Economic Development Strategy and 2024-25 budget proposal will continue to make Pennsylvania a national leader in and economic development. The event included an outdoor demonstration of Neya Systems’s off-road ground vehicle.

Giving new life to old structures is in and of itself a mark of , but there are historic industrial sites across the Pittsburgh region that are getting a second chance in more ways than one, with features and amenities that support their communities, their surroundings and the overall environment.

https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2024/04/02/blooming-from-blight-earth-day-spotlight-on-green.html

Thanks to a $500,000 grant from Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, our partnership with Regional Industrial Development Corporation - RIDC will be able to build on the considerable momentum already surrounding New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park. This grant will fund road improvements at the nearly 70-acre site. We’re grateful for support from Senator Joe Pittman and PA State Rep. Jill Cooper for this project, which will support our job-creation efforts in their districts.

🌷RIDC's Spring Newsletter🌷
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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.

Creating jobs in the Mon Valley: A decades-long effort bears fruit - Pittsburgh Business Times When RIDC acquired the former Westinghouse campus in Turtle Creek 35 years ago 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.