Executive Innamorato & Senator Pisciottano Launch Mon Valley Forward
Published on October 30, 2025
PITTSBURGH – Today County Executive Innamorato and Senator Nick Pisciottano announced the launch of Mon Valley Forward: An Economic Development Strategy. Mon Valley Forward will be funded by Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County and Allegheny County Economic Development and represents a collaborative effort with the County, Senator Pisciottano, Allegheny Conference on Community Development, RIDC, state and federal partners, Mon Valley business and community leaders, and other economic development partners.
The Mon Valley Forward: An Economic Development Strategy will serve as Allegheny County's primary framework for attracting business investment, creating and retaining quality jobs, supporting existing business growth, and building long-term economic competitiveness in the Mon Valley region. The county is in the midst of launching its countywide comprehensive plan as well, Allegheny Forward, the Mon Valley strategy will buttress the countywide comprehensive planning framework.
The Mon Valley strategy will provide Allegheny County Economic Development with concrete tools for business attraction and retention, site marketing, workforce alignment, and investment leverage, ensuring the Mon Valley can compete effectively for private investment and state/federal economic development resources. This effort will deliver a focused, data-driven, and implementation-ready strategy that provides actionable guidance to Allegheny County Economic Development and its partners. It will emphasize near-term investment readiness, community-aligned economic goals, and a strong connection to both market realities and regional policy priorities.
“This strategy will provide a clear, data-informed roadmap for expanding existing businesses, attracting new ones, to the Mon Valley. Our Economic Development Department has invested more than $115 million in the Mon Valley over the last five years, but we want to be better equipped to make targeted, coordinated investments,” said Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato. “That’s why this effort is so important. It will help us invest smarter and more strategically, identify high-impact projects, and make sure every dollar we spend moves the Valley forward and creates high-paying jobs right here in Allegheny County.”
“The Mon Valley is often discussed in terms of its past,” said Senator Pisciottano. “This plan is about building a future driven by collaboration, data, and the voices of the people who live here. Together with Allegheny County and our local partners, we are setting the stage for long-term, sustainable revitalization.”
The decline of the Mon Valley following the loss of its heavy manufacturing base is well-documented. Despite decades of investment, including nearly $115M in financing and grants over the past five years that Allegheny County has administered, many communities have struggled to regain economic momentum. Mon Valley Forward represents a new, collaborative approach that unites state, county, and local leaders with residents and businesses to deliver relevant and useful data that will help chart a clear path forward.
“The County’s comprehensive plan, Allegheny Forward, will shape how we evolve and grow as a county. It will give us a new approach to connect housing, jobs, infrastructure, and opportunity to ensure that every part of our county shares in the region’s prosperity. And the work we’re pursuing through a specific Mon Valley plan will only bolster that” said Lauren Connelly, Director of Allegheny County Economic Development. “By linking a strategy for Mon Valley to Allegheny Forward, we’re making sure the Valley is at the center of the County’s economic future, not on the sidelines.”
In addition to Senator Pisciottano, County Executive Innamorato, Allegheny County Economic Development, and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Mon Valley Forward will be developed in partnership with regional stakeholders, including municipal officials, business owners, labor representatives, and community partners including:
Allegheny Forward is a vision for the county’s future and an actionable roadmap to achieve it. It sets policies for development, redevelopment, conservation, and economic initiatives. Throughout 2025 and 2026, Allegheny County will work to develop the new comprehensive plan and conduct public engagement to identify the issues the plan should address, the ways the county can address them, and how the county can best support its partners in addressing them.
Mon Valley Forward will be executed on a faster timeline than the countywide comprehensive plan. The data, analysis, and findings from this effort will be directly integrated into and inform the countywide comprehensive plan, providing the foundation for its future work in the Mon Valley. Both efforts are being led by a shared, integrated consultant team (SmithGroup, OHM, and Pashek) to ensure this strategic coordination is seamless.
Public engagement sessions and stakeholder meetings will be scheduled in the coming months to ensure that community perspectives are at the center of the planning process for both the Mon Valley-focused and countywide planning projects.
Learn more about Mon Valley Forward.
Media inquiries may be directed to the Communications Office.
For contact information, including email addresses and telephone numbers, visit the office website.