Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor on Tuesday outlined a vision of economic growth before a consortium of technology companies, reiterating a mantra he has focused on since his mayoral campaign.
“If we want to grow Pittsburgh, we have to do it, and we have to do it fast,” O’Connor told roughly 100 people at a Pittsburgh Technology Council event at the National Aviary on the North Side.
The mayor, appearing for about 45 minutes in a question-and-answer format, pitched plans to grow businesses and opportunities for families throughout the city.
By early March, he said, the city will roll out a plan to revamp its cumbersome permitting system, following up on an executive order he signed on his first day in office. The measure ordered various city departments to figure out how to slash red tape.
O’Connor said the measure should help small businesses that don’t have a team of lawyers to help navigate a permitting process that has been criticized for being lengthy and complicated.
“We took some complaints up front that this was for big developers,” O’Connor said during his 45-minute appearance in a question-and-answer format. “It’s really not.”
He pointed also to efforts to create a fund to support development Downtown through a tax diversion program.
Known as a Transit Revitalization District, or TRID, the program would require approvals from the city, county and school district.
The mayor on Tuesday said his hope is to gain approval — or at least formal backing by City Council — before the 2026 NFL Draft puts the city in the limelight in late April.
That way, officials could use the special taxing district to try to entice businesses to expand to Pittsburgh while the city is receiving national attention.
O’Connor spoke also of efforts to clean up Downtown ahead of the draft, repainting bridges and removing unused newspaper kiosks.
To encourage more businesses to flock to the city — and existing businesses to stay and expand — O’Connor said he would be “very aggressive.”
He told a room full of technology companies that the industry is “big for us” and offered to help connect startups with interns, solicit investors or consider using new technologies created locally to improve city services.
The mayor’s vision also emphasizes growing opportunities for families.
O’Connor said he wants to support additional child care facilities and expanded programming in recreation centers.
He suggested increased partnerships with local nonprofits, unions and other groups — including the National Aviary, host of Tuesday’s event — to create new opportunities at the city’s recreation centers.
“I think we can build you a quality of life here — especially with our rivers, our trails, our parks — that you could want to keep your family here,” he said.
