A Conversation with David Doig, President of Park Bank Initiatives

“Community development isn’t what we do for Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) credits,” explains Preservation Compact Advisory Council Member David Doig, “it’s our central mission.”  A former Deputy Commissioner for Chicago’s Department of Planning and Chicago Parks Commissioner, Doig became the president of Park Bank Initiatives at the end of 2007. 

Park Bank Initiatives (PBI) is the not-for-profit Community Development Corporation arm of Park National Bank.  Established in 2003 as a subsidiary of Park National Bank, PBI’s mission is to foster community development in areas where the bank does business.   PBI’s largest current project is the revitalization of the Pullman neighborhood, which involves the purchase and rehabilitation of more than 25 historic row houses as well as residential and commercial redevelopment plans for the old Ryerson Steel plant.  PBI is also concerned about preserving existing rental housing in the neighborhood.  In addition, PBI is also working to help stabilize and improve areas of the nearby neighborhoods of Englewood, Roseland, and Maywood.

Doig believes the new federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) will provide a needed influx of funds to help some of the city and suburban neighborhoods blighted by foreclosures.  “We need to be very careful to target these funds with laser-like precision, looking block by block for opportunities to maximize neighborhood impact,” Doig advises.  He thinks that NSP will simplify the process so that developers will not have to cobble together multiple layers of financing.

In response to questions about when the market might turn around, Doig is cautiously optimistic.  “We will ultimately reach the bottom of the market, and investors will buy properties – not because they can flip them and make big profits but because they can rent them and make the deals work.  When that happens, we’ll begin to get back on track.”