Think Pittsburgh, and myriad images emerge: A stunning vision of the downtown skyline from atop Mount Washington, one of the nation’s most ecologically minded—and lauded—cities, more than 200 industrial properties officially reclaimed in less than 10 years, a city of continuing innovation and impact.

Today’s Pittsburgh is a new Pittsburgh region, an urban core set among three rivers and rolling hills, encompassing a 7,200-square-mile area and a population of more than 2.6 million people. Representing land that extends far beyond its MSA, the new Pittsburgh region consists of 10 counties, each with distinct amenities and attributes and each with an understanding that in the world of economic development the whole is truly greater than its parts.

It wasn’t always so
During the early 1980s, the region lost more than 150,000 manufacturing jobs, a direct hit on an economy largely dependent on a single industrial sector. In the years following, it lost population, market share and political clout. Ten years later, a reenergized private sector, working in partnership with the public sector, began to advance an aggressive agenda to improve the region’s competitiveness nationally and globally. By the late 1990s, these initiatives began to demonstrate results. A job growth rate that was one-third the national average in 1994 had surpassed the national average by 2001.

What looks so simple on paper represented a herculean mental shift that embraced the concept of regionalism, an easier-said-than-done premise that meant an honest assessment of individual strengths and challenges and a collective acceptance of the concept that a win for one is a win for all with the same holding true for losses. It also meant realignment—and at times the reduction—of the dozens of agencies that emerged in the wake of economic collapse, each promising to advance the area under their guidance and set of priorities, which at times were redundant or conflicting.

PRA Photo The smokestacks that were once symbols of Pittsburgh are now the backdrop for the region's aggressive approach to redevelopment.

That was then, this is now.
In 1995, the region’s leading business and community leaders created the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (PRA), non-profit economic development group charged with objectively marketing the 10-county area of Southwestern Pennsylvania. The agency assisted regional leaders and developers in assessing needs, establishing priorities and creating an atmosphere of inclusion.

“It’s no simple task,” says Ronnie Bryant, president and chief operating officer of the PRA. “You’re dealing with history and agendas that might not personally be your own, but that’s the point. We’ve had to learn—all of us—that this is a zero-sum game. A win for one is a win for all. A loss for one is a loss for all.

“We work to help all county partners understand what they bring to the table, and how it all fits into the big picture. A developer might site a manufacturing facility in one county and draw upon its workforce from another county. If they don’t note borders, why should we?”

Early results include a greater willingness to share information among county partners, an understanding of the necessity of a regional game plan and a visible cohesion where formerly none existed.

“Companies seriously looking at multiple areas see more than just the available infrastructure and costs of business,” Bryant says. “If there is an atmosphere of discord, that will be apparent. If there is an atmosphere of cooperation, they will see that, too. I believe, when corporate real estate professionals and other business leaders now come to the Pittsburgh region, they see an unprecedented and in many cases unparalleled level of support and teamwork.”

Much of what they see is reflective of the self-critical look county leaders had to take in order to set priorities for the future.

“Once we had the players at the table,” says Bryant, “we had to start asking the big questions.”

These included: Where are we as a region? Where are we going? How are we going to get there?

“We had to acknowledge that we had the potential, but not the reality,” Bryant says. “That doesn’t cut it.”

The process of coming together for the sake of the whole did not occur overnight. A series of communications summits, candid discussions and some degree of cathartic venting eventually gave way to an on-going commitment to regional growth and advancement.

Some of the answers to those first wrenching questions emerged in the form of new business parks, reclaimed brownfields, more rail-to-truck terminals, parcels of land zoned tax-free, a database of more than 800 available regional properties, a comprehensive business resource call center, and a regional showcase that uses advanced technology to highlight regional amenities and real estate in each of the 10 counties from a single point of access.

So well coordinated have been the efforts that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has rewarded many of the projects by matching private funds and with additional broad funding.

“We’ve been told that the [Governor] Rendell administration has called Southwestern Pennsylvania one of the—if not the—best prepared areas in the state,” says Bryant. “That kind of recognition translates into sympathetic assistance, which just further generates new progress.”

But that’s not where the growth has stopped
“We recognize that our achievements have come from forward thinking coupled with bold, aggressive planning,” says Bryant. “Within the past year, we’ve taken that a step further.”

That step has a name—3 Rivers: One Future. Termed a growth initiative, it’s a long-range plan to be conducted one year at a time, commanding the pooled resources—leadership, staff and operating budgets—of four established non-profit agencies working on behalf of Southwestern Pennsylvania: The Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Pennsylvania Economy League/Western Division, Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, and Pittsburgh Regional Alliance.

“We consider the 10 counties a product in the global marketplace,” says Rick Stafford, chief executive officer of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and its affiliate organizations. “That said, we want business and talent—our customer base—to buy our product by relocating to the region or expanding here. We measure our success in that endeavor by the growth in quality jobs and wealth across all demographics and counties. To accomplish this, we’re developing a second-to-none, responsive, customer friendly, well-coordinated approach to improve, market and deliver the product.”

An ambitious approach to be sure, both private and public sector leadership has strongly endorsed the three-year plan and the formal affiliation of each of the four organizations.

“The coming together of these organizations and their resources acknowledges a fact we have to understand to continue to achieve,” says Sy Holzer, president of PNC Bank, Pittsburgh. “Potential means nothing. Whatever it takes to close the deal—that’s what it takes. These affiliated organizations are doing what it takes.”

Unique in the country, the affiliation is a new economic model garnering close attention. “Really, though,” says Stafford, “bringing each of these groups together was a natural. It just made sense. I would anticipate other communities could identify their own synergies and bring them together formally, though, I would hasten to add without strong leadership backing, there will be little chance for similar success. The Pittsburgh region owes much to an unusually strong, committed group of leaders. These are people who understand talk is not enough. These are people of action. They know how to translate vision into reality.”

Indeed, the composition of the PRA board is represented by members of both the private and public sector, including Pittsburgh mayor Tom Murphy, whose own reputation as visionary in brownfield development and infrastructure improvement has leant a strong degree of validity and expectation to the board.

Each organization is charged with its own piece of the development puzzle. Specifically, the conference represents private sector leadership to identify long-term regional improvements. The Pennsylvania Economy League conducts the research on issues identified by the conference. The Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce is responsible for local, state and federal advocacy to improve the Pittsburgh region. The Pittsburgh Regional Alliance markets the region as a neutral regional broker. Formal backers of the initiative—the Allegheny Conference Regional Investor’s Council—provide time, talent and additional resources to advance the agenda.

Focused in three major areas—community, education and growth with an emphasis on job creation and population growth—the initiative is a formal strategic affiliation, united as a single entity. The staff of each organization reports to a single CEO chosen by the conference board.

“We have specific goals tailored to the region’s needs,” says Stafford. “We have the public and private commitment to take our best shot at meeting our goals, and we have the personal determination.”

Immediate priorities include generating and serving customers; long-range priorities will target infrastructure improvement.

 “So far as we know, we are at the forefront of this arena,” says Stafford.

“Ours is not the only region ever to be hit hard economically,” he says. “Ours, however, is one of the most progressive in banding together, and it’s attracting attention. You can see it in the new businesses created and welcomed, those that have expanded and the new faces in our workforce.”