In 1983, under the direction of Harrisburg’s newly-elected Mayor, Stephen R. Reed, as well as the United States Department of Commerce, the Mayor’s Office of Minority Business Enterprises (OMBE) was established. Mayor Reed strongly advocated for developing more City-based business ventures, with a special emphasis on minority-owned and woman-owned businesses. Subsequently in 1984, the Mayor’s Office of Business and Industrial Development (OBID) was established. This mayoral Office worked with OMBE to develop new projects and business ventures for the City.
In 1990, these offices were combined to become the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development (MOED). MOED was responsible for the promotion and advancement of business and industrial development in the City. MOED was able to provide financial assistance to City-based businesses by establishing the Revolving Loan Program. MOED was charged by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with overseeing the funds that were created for the New Baldwin Corridor (this corridor is 17 miles long and runs south from the Harrisburg Area Community College campus to Harrisburg International Airport)MOED also served as a "gatekeeper" to other sources of financing at the county, state and federal levels. MOED also provided contract procurement services and other assistance to minority (MBE) and women-owned (WBE) businesses throughout the Greater Harrisburg region. Procurement assistance consists of matching government and private sector contracting opportunities with available MBEs/ WBEs. Consistent with its historical support of minority and women-owned businesses, the MOEDSP also provided state-recognized MBE/ WBE certification for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania construction projects, purchasing and various service contract opportunities. MOED also provided business start-up counseling and links to various sources of more in-depth business and management training.
Due to the influx of unique and more long-term projects in which the City was a key developer, a separate Mayor’s Office of Special Projects (MOSP) was created in 2001. MOSP was established to provide organizational leadership for diverse, high-profile and complex, long-term projects undertaken by the City of Harrisburg, such as City Island’s Skyline Sports Complex, Riverside Stadium, Riverside Village Park, the National Civil War Museum, the Municipal Solid Waste and Recycling Center, Central Energy Office and the Harrisburg Energy Recovery Project, to name a few examples.
As the City’s economy blossomed through the end of the 20th century, 2004 brought yet another merger of both Offices’ missions, functions and services- in an effort to better coordinate staff, programs and services, as well as efficiently manage resources, the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development and the Mayor’s Office of Special Projects merged into one office, now known as MOEDSP.