A real estate executive who grew up on Chicago’s South Side, and who has helped bring big developments to areas of the city where investments had been lacking, is Mayor Brandon Johnson’s pick for planning director.
Ciere Boatright will take over as head of the Department of Planning and Development effecting Nov. 20, pending City Council approval, the progressive mayor announced Wednesday.
The native of the Grand Crossing neighborhood will join the 5-month-old Johnson administration from Chicago development firm CRG, the real estate development arm of construction firm Clayco. Boatright was vice president of real estate and community development at CRG.
Before that, Boatright spent more than eight years at Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, a community developer that led several projects in Pullman and other neighborhoods on the city’s South Side.
"Ciere Boatright is a tremendously talented and respected executive with a proven track record of managing public and private developments across the city and getting deals done,” Johnson said in a statement. “As a native Chicagoan who knows the landscape of our city, her unique understanding of community economic development, commercial real estate, affordable housing, job creation and neighborhood engagement will ensure our city works equitably for all Chicagoans.”
Boatright will replace Maurice Cox, who was chosen for the role by previous Mayor Lori Lightfoot. She was voted out of office after one term, with Johnson defeating Paul Vallas in a runoff election to replace her in April.
Johnson took office in May, and Cox — who guided Lightfoot initiatives including the Invest South/West effort to spur developments in poorer neighborhoods and the LaSalle Street Reimagined plan to provide public incentives toward the conversion of Loop office buildings into affordable apartments — resigned in August.
Longtime city zoning administrator Patrick Murphey was the interim leader of the department until Boatright’s selection. He is being promoted to first deputy in the department, according to the announcement Wednesday.
Boatright will help Johnson continue initiatives that he chooses to keep from the previous administration, as well as guiding the new administration’s progressive agenda — which includes plans to increase real estate transfer taxes on higher-end homes and most commercial real estate sale to fund services to combat homelessness — at a time when rising interest rates and other economic worries have slowed real estate investments here and in cities throughout the country.
There hasn’t been a sale of a downtown Chicago office building of more than $50 million since July 2022.
Boatright will be a liaison between the city and the commercial real estate industry, whose professionals overwhelmingly opposed Johnson in his election against pro-business, tough-on-crime opponent Vallas.
“Together, we will work with communities to foster inclusive growth through equitable contracting, planning, zoning, development and innovation that will fuel meaningful economic opportunities for generations of Chicagoans,” Boatright said in the statement. “I look forward to utilizing my expertise and lived experience to align the Department closely with Mayor Johnson’s vision for the city.”
At CRG, Boatright worked with a former city planning director, David Reifman, who joined the Chicago developer in 2019 after serving as planning director under Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Boatright joined CRG in September 2021. She led development projects, managed a national philanthropic program called CRG Cares and launched CRG’s diverse developer initiative, according to the city’s statement.
During her time at Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, Boatright helped lead multimillion-dollar projects that created 1,600 jobs and led affordable housing policy, according to the statement.
Boatright’s projects included bringing a Gotham Greens rooftop greenhouse and a Whole Foods warehouse to Pullman.
Upon being selected for Crain’s Chicago Business’ 40 Under 40 in 2020, Boatright pointed to her work in Pullman and told the business publication: “I want to do this in more neighborhoods. I want to take this show on the road.”
Boatright has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and a master’s degree in urban planning and policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago.