Showing Initiative
Laura Zinski, CEO of the Mon Valley Initiative, photographed at her Homestead office.
Laura Zinski, CEO of the Mon Valley Initiative, photographed at her Homestead office.
The Mon Valley Initiative has plans to renovate the former Eisenberg’s Department Store at Schoonmaker Avenue and Fourth Street in Monessen, which has been vacant for 15 years.
Reviving the economy of a Mon Valley town is a big undertaking. Now, imagine trying to take on the task of restoring economic vitality to the entire Mon Valley. Would you sign up for that job? Laura Zinski did just that 15 years ago this month when she became CEO of the Mon Valley Initiative. “When I came to MVI back in 2001, things were quite difficult from a financial perspective and I am really proud that we have been able to turn that around and find effective and efficient ways to deliver important services to our communities,” Zinski says. “For most nonprofits, finding the resources to make a real difference can be extremely challenging, because the environment is constantly changing.”
The Mon Valley Initiative is a 501(c)(3) grass-roots coalition headquartered in Homestead. It’s comprised of 10 Community Development Corporations and represents 12 municipalities in the Monongahela Valley. It formed in 1988 when leaders of the CDCs from all of the groups agreed that sharing staffing and support for projects would be a better way to move the area’s economy forward.
As a graduate student, Zinski interned with the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh and Central Northside Neighborhood Council, getting a first-hand look at community revitalization efforts in the Pittsburgh region. “MVI was my first real job after attending graduate school at Heinz College at CMU,” remembers Zinski, a Canton, Ohio, native who now lives in Braddock with her husband and daughter.
While at MVI initially, she worked in the real estate program for four years, then took a position at Allegheny County Economic Development. Following a stint in the private sector, she returned to MVI in 2001 as the CEO. “I love helping communities that really took it on the chin in the ’80s when major industries left the region,” she says. “As a grassroots-driven coalition, MVI has been responsive to real community needs because it has a close view of what’s going on in the lives of people here.”
The organization provides a mix of services, including workforce development, preparing people for home ownership, real estate development, affordable housing and main street commercial renovations, as well as community outreach.
“The combination of these services, delivered in a way that engages a broad group of people, has been the key to rebuilding the fabric of our communities and providing a sense of hope and possibility,” Zinski says.
MVI’s Rehab for Sale program, for example, purchases blighted properties, restores them and puts them back on the market – affordably. In Monessen, the organization plans on renovating the former Eisenberg’s Department Store into up to 13 units of mixed-income rental apartments. That property has been sitting vacant in the heart of Monessen’s business district for 15 years.
Leading a coalition of community organizations means trying to maintain cohesiveness and making sure everyone works together. “The bottom line is trust,” Zinski says. “Trust is built on doing what you say you are going to do. I have been extremely fortunate to have an excellent staff who can really deliver on what they promise, and I also have a wonderful core group of MVI board members who have really guided and supported our work over many years. Not everyone understands that the economics of these communities — though independent political entities — are still deeply tied together. Being able to think regionally, while acting locally, is a big reason for MVI’s success.”
Zinski says she finds her work rewarding, both professionally and personally. “I have built relationships with people that have truly changed my life and I am grateful for that,” she says. “I feel very fortunate to get up every day and go to a job that is challenging and interesting and really makes a difference to my neighbors – both my actual neighbors in Braddock and my neighbors throughout the Mon Valley region.”
Fifteen years in, Zinski is still pushing toward the future. “There is definitely land available and we have done work with local governments to update the ‘unseen’ municipal infrastructure needed to support redevelopment like updated zoning ordinances and planning documents,” she says. “We need to continue to position Valley communities as great places to live and attract residents back — the population loss seems to finally be stopping and this means we need to be positioned and ready to effectively manage growth opportunities.”
As far as economic opportunities for the Valley, Zinski says she would prefer a mix of industries rather than relying on one large employer. “I’d prefer to put a mix of eggs in the basket, rather than relying on one giant plant as was done in the past,” she says. “We have a lot of smaller, lighter environmental-impact companies already located here and working successfully.”
MVI has been funding a commercial real estate broker to help new and growing businesses find space in several key communities in the Valley, including Charleroi, Braddock and Swissvale. Several small manufacturers have set up in the communities thanks to the effort, like Quality Pasta Company, which moved into the 20,000 square-foot former Sparkle Market in Charleroi’s Chamber Plaza.
“I think with groups like RIDC leading on the major mill-site redevelopments and with groups like MVI working in the neighborhoods and main streets, we will continue to see an interesting mix of new investments.”