David J. Anderson, 37

By Barbara Connors

David Anderson, co-founder of Spring Creek Development Co., thinks his approach to real estate development is different. “Real estate development involves more than the bottom line,” he says. “There’s a double bottom line of creating responsible development that enhances communities.”

His office overlooking his family’s world-renowned Anderson Japanese Gardens is an inspirational setting to plan what he refers to as “meaningful development.” Though Anderson enjoys the smaller-scale in fill developments, his real passion revolves around creating master-planned communities—or what he refers to as “place making.”

A boomeranger, Anderson moved away from Rockford after graduating from Boylan High School to attend Denison University. Before moving back in 1998, he worked for four years at Advance Dial Company, a precision custom plastic injection molder in the Chicago suburbs.

Now 37 years old, Anderson’s roots are firmly planted in Rockford. He’s the board president of The Literacy Council and an active member of the YMCA of the Rock River Valley’s board of directors. As a hobby photographer he occasionally participates in local art shows. “Photography really has opened a lot of doors for me.”

A favorite activity is his involvement in Next Rockford, a next generation organization committed to positioning Rockford as attractive to knowledge based workers. “We as a community are competing against the world to attract employees for our local businesses.

Without a qualified workforce, we won’t keep the businesses we have, much less attract new ones to the community. We need to address how to get the 27-year old, newly married engineer who wants to establish roots and start a family to move to Rockford.”