One of the new tenants that will be opening as part of the Gateway Marketplace development at 8 Mile Rd. and Woodward is a free-standing
PNC Bank branch.
PNC has made a name for itself as an extremely eco-conscious company, leading the industry in green building practices and spearheading city-wide transformative green initiatives in cities like Pittsburgh. The company has over 200 LEED-certified buildings in 16 different states as well as Washington D.C. and London. It has received 136 certifications for new construction, more than any other company in the world.
Each of the new buildings is constructed to LEED certification standards. "This is automatic," says PNC Bank Retail Market Executive Mike Bickers. "All new buildings will get that certification."
A new branch at 7 Mile Rd. and Evergreen in Detroit, an interior renovation (as opposed to new construction), was recently awarded a LEED certification, and the new building at Gateway Marketplace, the first full-service stand-alone PNC Bank branch in Detroit, will be as well once it is finished.
PNC is looking to increase its presence in Detroit in the coming years, and expect the new Gateway Marketplace to be a big stepping stone for the company in its effort to reach out to the Detroit community. At the 7 Mile location, they invite churches and nonprofit groups to come in and educate customers on their finances and how to stay out of trouble – everything from credit repair to avoiding and addressing identity theft to investment and money management. "Principally we want folks, whether they have a dime or a dollar, to learn how to manage their money better," Bickers says. "We're not interested in pushing people into getting credit. We need to get everyone into financial well-being and we will do that in every office."
The new Eight Mile location will offer the same kind of financial education and support. It will have three drive-through lanes, the full host of personal and corporate banking services and customer care offered by PNC, and all the most up-to-date technology, "the latest and greatest of what we do."
The Gateway Marketplace PNC won't open until next spring. In the meantime the bank is focused on doing all the pre-opening groundwork: reaching out to community organizations and churches to follow the same educational model it set forth at 7 Mile and Evergreen, and reaching out to other businesses in the Marketplace and surrounding community. "We can't do this without the cooperation of the businesses around us."
Source: Mike Bickers, Retail Market Executive for PNC Bank
Writer: Nicole Rupersburg
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