Lehigh Valley’s rapidly expanding economy was spotlighted several times in City & State Pennsylvania’s recent Special Report on Economic Development.
The print and digital magazine, which is distributed monthly to a statewide audience of decision makers in business, education, and government, produced the special report to take a deep dive into Gov. Josh Shapiro’s efforts to raise the state’s profile when it comes to economic development. 
Shapiro wants to invest an additional $600 million dollars, most of it to make sites shovel ready for development, and his administration created the first statewide strategic plan for economic development in nearly two decades.
The feature article in City & State’s special report, published May 28, explores that plan, which is designed to make Pennsylvania more competitive with other states. The article explains why Shapiro chose to announce the strategy in the Lehigh Valley.
“The administration unveiled the plan in January in the state’s Lehigh Valley region, an area once known for being the home to manufacturing heavyweights like Bethlehem Steel,” the article said. “Since the fall of Bethlehem Steel and other manufacturers, the region has embraced new forms of manufacturing, like medical devices, and over the last several decades, leaders at the local level have worked together to craft an economic vision for the area to ensure it didn’t get left behind by the evolving economy.”
“When we launched this plan, we did so in the Lehigh Valley very purposefully, because the Lehigh Valley has a lot going for it … because of a deliberate, multiyear effort of partnering by business and others in that region to help it grow and succeed,” Rick Siger, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, told City & State.
George Lewis, Special Assistant to the President & CEO at Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. (LVEDC), was among the regional and state officials interviewed by City & State.
He shared the history of how LVEDC was created in the 1990s by a group of the Lehigh Valley’s large employers who knew that a regional approach would be needed for the economy to rebound from the loss of Bethlehem Steel.
And it worked.
Today, the Lehigh Valley has a $50 billion economy that’s still driven by manufacturing, but with a diversity of companies making products including semiconductors, medical equipment, food and beverages, consumer goods, and vehicles. In 2023, the Lehigh Valley was ranked the No. 1 mid-sized market for economic development in the U.S., by Site Selection magazine, based on the number of new projects, investment, and jobs created.
Lewis told City & State Pennsylvania that LVEDC supports Shapiro’s strategic plan.
“We’re showing that we can get it done in Pennsylvania, that with the right resources and the right selling points, you can go toe-to-toe with the Sun Belt states – with Texas and Florida and Georgia – and compete for projects, and get companies to come to your area, to expand in your area,” Lewis said. “We’re doing it here, and hopefully it’s a model, as the governor is saying, that other regions in Pennsylvania can use to compete and win projects in their areas, too.”
City & State Pennsylvania’s Special Report on Economic Development includes other articles and images featuring the Lehigh Valley.
There is a Q&A with state Sen. Jarrett Coleman. Other articles are illustrated with photographs of Lehigh Valley businesses, including architecture firm Alloy5 in Bethlehem and Mussel Polymers, a startup at Ben Franklin TechVentures in Bethlehem that is developing an anti-corrosive coating for the U.S. Air Force.