Butler Health System's new, $20 million medical office building is under construction at the intersection of Routes 38, 68 and 422 in Summit Township.

PITTSBURGH — Each spring, the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, an economic development and marketing organization that covers the 10-county Pittsburgh region, releases its Business Investment Scorecard to provide a comprehensive snapshot of development.

The alliance compiles the information based on announced deals and projects and by working with economic development organizations, such as the Community Development Corporation of Butler County.

This year, the alliance research team counted total capital investment in the region of about $2.3 billion, making 2014 the eighth consecutive year investment in the region topped $1 billion.

In Butler County a diverse mix of businesses contributed to an estimated $188.9 million in investment deals.

The $2.3 billion total is comprised of 208 investment deals related to property, plant and equipment improvements and 66 development deals for new buildings and infrastructure.

Advanced manufacturing led the way among five key industry sectors, with 68 business attraction, expansion and retention projects out of the 274 total regional projects. The total investment by the manufacturing sector was about $450.2 million.

Reflecting the region’s manufacturing legacy, it was the most active sector for the sixth time in eight years.

Other top sectors included health care and life sciences, 24 projects for $106.1 million; information technology, 47 projects for $52.7 million; and financial and business services, 28 projects at $10.6 million.

The growing energy sector, which comprises multiple sectors, produced 31 projects at about $78 million.

In Butler County, development projects, led by the $70 million UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township, had a total price tag of about $144 million.

Investment projects totaled at least $44.9 million, according to the scorecard, but the majority of expanding companies did not report a dollar amount on their investments.

Jim Futrell, vice president of market research for the alliance, said highlights in Butler County include the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, the expansion of Iron Mountain’s data center near Boyers, the development of the FedEx Ground center in Jackson Township, and the expansion of both Synergy Health and Aldi in the Victory Road Business Park in Clinton Township.

He said the most encouraging aspect of this year’s regional findings is that about seven out of 10 investment deals involve existing businesses.

“It shows that companies here see (the region) as a place to thrive and grow,” he said.

Futrell said some of the biggest strengths for Butler County are access to major highways and lower tax compared to other counties.

Ken Raybuck, executive director of the CDC of Butler County, said what is the most encouraging aspect to him is the amount of private development occurring — not just in Cranberry and the surrounding area, but throughout the county.

“We have a lot of growth that is taking place not just in the southwest, but all over,” he said.