Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato yesterday announced a $10 million county investment in redevelopment of blighted streets and neighborhoods in Braddock.

"When I was campaigning I said we wouldn't forget the Mon Valley, and one of the first things we did was buy the Carrie Furnace site," Mr. Onorato told a group of about 100 residents and county, state and municipal officials gathered at Good Shepherd Church.

"But unlike that project, when we didn't look beyond Carrie Furnace to what was happening in communities like East 8th Avenue in Homestead, we are now committed to rebuilding entire communities," he said.

"As we develop the waterfront we want to make sure that we also develop the neighborhoods on the inside. Braddock Avenue matters."

It was the changes that have already happened as well as upcoming improvements along Braddock Avenue that Mr. Onorato, Braddock Mayor John Fetterman and the others there sought to highlight on a walking tour of the old steel mill town yesterday.

They pointed to a new community playground behind Good Shepherd; new and rehabilitated housing along Frazier and Verona streets; reconstruction of the long dilapidated Maple Way; acquisition and clearing of five acres of vacant land and delinquent properties; construction of a bus shelter at Verona Street and Braddock Avenue; and construction of two outdoor basketball courts on Library Street.

The work, funded mostly through Community Development Block Grants and a consortium of state agencies, community groups like the Mon Valley Initiative, and private donors including U.S. Steel and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, is expected to draw an additional $9 million in federal, state and private funding, said Dennis Davin, the county's director of economic development.

In May and June, Mr. Onorato announced funding plans for new housing and refurbishment projects in Rankin, Braddock and North Braddock.

Jesse Brown, a longtime Braddock resident and president of the borough council, said Mon Valley communities, especially Braddock, have received an unprecedented level of attention from the chief executive.

"I keep asking for more money and they keep giving," Mr. Brown said of Mr. Onorato and Mr. Davin.

"There are a lot of things happening in Braddock and if you want to get involved, now is the time," he said.