Designated as the Local Development District (LDD) by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), SPC plays a lead role in identifying priority needs of local communities by working to foster economic development, to target and meet the most pressing needs, and to build community unity and leadership.

SPC undertakes projects through the Area Development Program that address the five goals identified by ARC in its strategic plan.

1. Developing a knowledgeable and skilled population
2. Strengthening the Region's physical infrastructure
3. Building local and regional capacity
4. Creating a dynamic economic base
5. Fostering healthy people

SPC seeks to build such projects as education and workforce training programs, highway construction, water and sewer system construction, leadership development programs, small business start-ups and expansions, and development of healthcare resources to meet the Area Development goals.

Eligible projects:

• Technical assistance that provides basic services to enhance business development
• Industrial site development
• Local access road
• Acquisition and development of incubator facilities
• Commercial area revitalization
• Telecommunications projects that encourage education and workforce training
• Telehealth monitoring
  

SPC’s role as the LDD is key to project development and review, providing technical assistance to local project sponsors and sending priority recommendations to the state.

All area development projects must be completed in close consultation with SPC. The grants are very competitive, and require both a pre-application and extensive full application preparation and review. Pre-applications are due each year in June, and full applications by the following January.

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State & Federal Partnerships

SPC is designated by the U.S. Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) as the Local Development District (LDD) and by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA) as the Economic Development District (EDD) for Southwestern Pennsylvania. SPC members play a lead role in identifying priority needs of local communities by working with their citizens to foster economic development, to target and meet the most pressing needs, and to build community cohesion and leadership.

As the region’s LDD, SPC members work together through the Area Development Program to advance a wide range of projects, including education and workforce training programs; Appalachian Highway System Program projects and industrial access improvements; water and sewer system construction; leadership development programs; and, development of healthcare resources to meet the Area Development goals.

SPC works with its members and organizations throughout the region to identify projects for ARC and EDA funding programs. 

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2012 Activities

2012 concluded the first full year for the Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Regional Economic Performance (PREP), which is a Commonwealth initiative designed to encourage regional coordination in economic development efforts, yielding superior customer service to the business community and a comprehensive, efficient statewide economic delivery strategy. In its first full year, the Partnership served over 2,800 clients, including over 30,000 hours of counseling.  This resulted in over $1 billion dollars in increased or retained sales and over 10,000 jobs created or retained.  SPC continues to be an integral part of the Partnership as it continues to evolve and provide services to the Southwestern Pennsylvania business community.

In 2012, SPC’s Economic Development Strategy Committee reviewed, scored, prioritized and recommended projects to the Commission for submission to the ARC for FY 2013 funding consideration.

The following are the projects forwarded to the Commonwealth for ARC consideration:

201 Local Access Road projects include:

1. New Business Park Access Road,  Fayette County
   This project will develop an access road into a new proposed business park in Dunbar Township.
2. Etna Freight Access Road, Allegheny County
   This project will create a freight access road within the Etna Sharpsburg Industrial Park.
3. Beaver Avenue Access Road, City of Pittsburgh
   This project will reconstruct Beaver Ave on the City’s North Side into a two-way street providing access to a development site.

The 214 Construction and 302 Non-Construction projects include:

1. SW PA Sustainable Economies Initiative, Fayette County
   This project entails the establishment of a sustainable economy initiative within Southwestern Pennsylvania promoting vibrant, livable communities with healthy people and ecosystems. 
2. Victory Road Storm Water Outflow Engineering, Butler County
   This project covers engineering costs for replacement of a deteriorating steel storm water pipe that handles outflow from Victory Road Business Park.
3. New Business Park Engineering, Fayette County
   This project entails planning and engineering activities for a proposed new business park in Dunbar Township.
4. Gardens at Market Square, City of Pittsburgh
   This project includes engineering costs for multi-use development at Market Square.
5. East End Regional Growth Initiative, Fayette County
   This project will provide computers and related equipment to an after-school tutoring program.

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For more information about the Appalachian Regional Commission Area Development Program, contact Lew Villotti at (412) 391-5590 x302 or e-mail lewvillotti@spcregion.org.

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