New leader of Erie Downtown Development Corp. 'There is a lot more work to do'
It was the work of the Erie Downtown Development Corp. that helped convince Drew Whiting, a venture capital lawyer, to invest in Erie after he and his wife moved here from Chicago in 2021.
And it was the foundation laid by the organization that prompted Whiting to apply for the job of CEO when the group's inaugural leader, John Persinger, announced last year that he would be moving with his family to Australia. Persinger, who ran unsuccessfully for Erie mayor in 2017, left town Monday after serving as the EDDC's leader for more than five years.
Whiting was introduced late Tuesday morning as the organization's new leader. He starts his new job July 17.
Tim NeCastro, who is CEO of Erie Insurance and founding board president of the EDDC, introduced Whiting to the media and a handful of guests Monday at the Erie Insurance Center.
"There is something special about him," NeCastro said in an interview on Monday. "He has a very unique background and spent the bulk of his career working to support startup companies. He is an entrepreneur at heart. I think he fits the bill of where the EDDC is today."
NeCastro said the accomplishments of the EDDC, which includes 12 projects across 478,000-square feet of new or revitalized space, are a credit to Persinger and the organization he led.
The business-led organization that Whiting will now lead has invested $110 million in downtown Erie since the organization was formed in 2017. That money has been used to build new buildings and complete top-to-bottom restorations of old ones, build a food hall, a market, 140 apartments, a climbing gym, parking garage, a restaurant and retail spaces.
NeCastro, whose company helped launch the organization, doesn't want to stop there.
"We are going to wrap up those. It's time to start planning for what's ahead," he said.
Like his predecessor, Whiting is a lawyer, who in 2014 co-founded Breakpoint Ventures in Chicago, a network of professionals who support seed-stage capital investments in growth-stage companies.
He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame and his law degree from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. A partner in the corporate and securities group at Scale LLP, Whiting said he will no longer have an active role with the law firm.
He and his wife are also parents of 4-year-old twins.
Not a caretaker
As Persinger prepared to leave and as a number of projects moved closer to completion, it seemed uncertain for a time what direction the EDDC would move in next.
Would it continue to purchase and redevelop downtown real estate? Or would the new leader be asked to be a caretaker to manage existing projects?
For Whiting, the answer to that question is clear.
"I can tell you in no uncertain terms. If they were strictly hiring a property manager, I would not have been interested in the job," Whiting said Monday in an interview with the Erie Times-News. "I think there is a lot more work to do. We have a lot of momentum to capitalize on."
Future development might be more incremental — perhaps a building at a time rather than a block at a time — but the work will continue, Whiting said.
"We expect to build on phase 1," he said. "We will not sit and hope that other people show up."
The good news, though, is that other people are showing up and investing in downtown Erie independent of the EDDC's efforts. Whiting rattles off a sizable and growing list of individuals and organizations that have launched redevelopment projects of their own, including developer Pete Zaphiris, Erie Insurance, Erie Events and Gannon University.
It's also a list that includes Whiting. He and his wife, Erie native Emily Sanner, last fall purchased a building on the southwest corner of West 10th and State streets, where they plan to develop an indoor golf course and café.
Whiting said the work of the EDDC and other local developers spurred him to get involved.
Before moving to Erie, "I had very low expectations for anything going on down here. That turned around pretty quickly," Whiting said. "We realized that this is a massive opportunity down here. If the right building comes along we should do it."
'A big opportunity'
Whiting, who is chairman of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnerships Ice Angel fund and serves on the board of Erie's Black Wall Street, said those feelings grew stronger as he became more involved in the community.
"I think this is a big opportunity to invest in a place that I think is about to hit an inflection point and become a really cool downtown. It's very encouraging. I am seeing all the momentum."
His service on Erie's Black Wall Street seems to speak for his vision for inclusive development.
"You don't have a recovery if it doesn't provide opportunity for everyone," he said.
What's Whiting's vision for Erie?
He can't speak yet to the specifics on projects that his group might tackle. What he can speak to is the shape of what he hopes to help build.
"I want the city to be a place that is walkable, which means there is housing for a broad swath of our population who can live downtown, work downtown, go to school and walk to everything they need."
He also thinks about his two children and thoughts of them returning home to Erie after college one day, drawn to the prospect of living in a vibrant city.
Whiting sees seeds are being sown for that future.
"It's hard not to get drawn in by that," he said.
More: EDDC CEO Persinger: Where does Erie downtown group go from here?
More: Erie downtown group launches food hall talent search
Contact Jim Martin at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Drew Whiting, a venture capital lawyer, to lead the EDDC
