Mon Valley Alliance responds to region’s economic, community needs
Courtesy of Jennifer L. Codeluppi, Snapshot 47 Photos
From left, Randy Patterson, MVA board member; Don Thornton, TBI Construction; Lorri Thornton, TBI Construction; Louis Quarto, MVA board member; and Ben Brown, CEO of MVA pose for a picture.
Courtesy of Jennifer L. Codeluppi, Snapshot 47 Photos
From left, Jamie Colecchi, MVA director of operations & development; John Easoz, chairman MVA board of directors; and Gina C. Lynn, MVA board member pose for a recent picture.
Courtesy of Jennifer L. Codeluppi, Snapshot 47 Photos
Ben Brown is Mon Valley Alliance’s CEO.
Courtesy of Jennifer L. Codeluppi, Snapshot 47 Photos
From left, Kelly Ellin, MVA office manager; Ashley Seman, executive drector, Mid Mon Valley Transit Authority; Jamie Colecchi, MVA director of operations & development; and Ben Brown, CEO of MVA pose for a picture.
Gina C. Lynn and John Easoz are members of Mon Valley Alliance's board of directors. Easoz is chairman of the board.
By Francesca Sacco
The Mon Valley Alliance has been busy over the last year.
As the region learned to adapt to the pandemic and its related restrictions, Mon Valley Alliance (MVA) stood ready to respond to the economic needs of its communities.
“The past year has been very busy,” Ben Brown, MVA’s CEO said. “Our history prepared us to respond to these new needs, and the results are a testament to our commitment to our mission, even in the face of such uncertain times.”
MVA serves the Mon Valley with industrial, business and community development, working together to build better communities. The organizaion was formed in 2016 as a consolidation of Mon Valley Progress Council and Middle Monongahela Industrial Development Association. Each of the previous organizations had existed for 50-plus years.
Their recent efforts have resulted in millions of dollars being pumped into Mon Valley communities. MVA’s new, five-year Regional Enterprise Zone, which spans 14 communities and took effect July 22, 2020, and ends July 31, 2035, started producing results with $2.4 million in state tax credits being awarded to six companies, supporting hundreds of jobs and leveraging more than $21 million in private investments.
“We’re able to help area businesses grow and expand,” Brown said.
In Fallowfield Township, construction has started on a new 250,000-square-foot building in its Alta Vista Business Park that will support more than 250 jobs. The new building represents a private investment of more than $25 million. Construction is also underway on a 35,000-square-foot building designed for flex industrial, medical production and other advanced industries.
“There’s a lack of sites that meet the needs of the modern user,” Brown said.
“Modern businesses are looking for flat parcels of land that have access to public utilizes and are located within easy access to rail networks and highway systems.”
These projects are slated to be completed this year, paving the way for additional economic growth in the area.
“These types of jobs are the first step in creating economic development in our communities,” Brown said. “We’re able to take a piece of land with little value and increase the tax base, producing annual payrolls. Those payrolls represent people buying houses, shopping, eating out and buying cars.”
Business assistance was also at the forefront of MVA’s efforts, as its assisted more than 45 companies with the Paycheck Protection Program, county level grant programs and COVID-19 mitigation rules and regulations.
John Easoz, chairman of the MVA board, said the organization has had tremendous success over the past year.
“Our mission, in simple terms, is a betterment of the quality of life in the Mon Valley,” he said. “We’re doing just that. We’re creating jobs. We’re creating new buildings. We’re creating parks. It’s all geared toward improving the quality of life.”
In Charleroi, MVA has been instrumental in building a five-acre riverfront park where the former Charleroi Stadium was located. The first phase of the project, which includes new parking spaces for trucks and trailers, new lighting and security cameras, will be completed this summer.
“Traditionally, we use rivers for industrial access,” Brown said. “We’re trying to help engage the river for recreation opportunities.”
The riverfront park is a part of MVA’s efforts to eliminate blight in downtown areas.
“A lot of the older homes in the valley aren’t designed for modern use. There’s no fire escapes. There’s no sprinkler systems. We work to salvage the structure, but if we can’t, we move forward with demolition and rebuilding.”
MVA recently demolished the former Atlas Warehouse and created a new office building on the site that will soon bring new jobs to the borough.
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, is appreciative of everything MVA is doing for the valley.
“It’s a great group with a great history,” she said. “They’ve been working their magic in the Mon Valley. I appreciate everything they are doing. They are using the resources we have and leveraging them for more.”
The Mon Valley Alliance Foundation, a subsidiary of MVA, granted its largest community development grant to date to Dunlevy Borough to assist with a critical infrastructure and public safety project. The donation – more that $10,000 – will go toward a new Walnut Street Extension/Rail Crossing and associated resurfacing of adjoining streets within the borough.
Brown said the community development side of the organization falls under the foundation, while economic projects are held under the MVA.
The MVA Foundation also provided grant writing assistance to multiple communities, resulting in awards of more than $200,000 and began the groundwork to provide a roadmap for recovery from the financial impacts of the pandemic. This year, the foundation partnered with cfsbank, which sponsored 12, $250 mini grants for community organizations.
“We help provide critical funding and bring attention to the important work different groups are doing,” Brown said. “There’s a lot of groups doing good things for the community, and we try to the highlight the work they are doing.”
Brown said the foundation offers micro loans up to $50,000 for start-up businesses or existing businesses that are growing or creating jobs and who are unable to receive traditional bank financing.
“We’re trying to help young businesses access some capital that they may not be able to access through traditional banks,” Easoz said. “We’re looking into other programs to expand what we’ve started.”
Brown has been with MVA since 2019. He was initially hired to fill the then newly created director of operations position before being named CEO. Before that, Brown was vice president of real estate for Beynon & Co., a commercial real estate firm based in Pittsburgh that is more than a century old. Prior to joining the MVA, he assisted the organization with its land sale at the Alta Vista Business Park.
Brown, who was raised on a farm in Georgia, said he brings a “fresh set of eyes to the region.”
“We have a lot of things that put us in the position to excel,” he said. “But there’s this memory of the past, and that thinking can get in the way of the future.”
He’s confident the area can continue to gain momentum and increase its economic growth.
“We have everything businesses need. We just need to bring the right businesses in,” he said.
Easoz said Brown brings a great deal to the table, and is confident he’ll continue to lead the organization in the right direction.
“He’s a very congenial person,” Easoz said.
“He’s done a fantastic job. We hope he sticks with us for a very long time going forward.”