I’m always proud to see extended members of our Clayco family continue to succeed in their career paths! 

Ciere Boatright, a Chicago native and a nationally recognized real estate professional with over a decade of experience, has been appointed as Chicago's Commissioner of Planning and Development by Mayor Brandon Johnson. This role is not just a job, but a catalyst that will allow her to lead initiatives to restore the city’s vitality and bring new innovative projects. Her success in developing impactful industrial, retail, affordable housing, and mixed-use projects in Chicago’s neighborhoods, plus previous non-for-profit experience, makes her the perfect fit for this position! 

I attended Crain’s Chicago Real Estate Breakfast to support Ciere along with various other business and civic leaders. It was a packed house with the who’s who of the real estate development community listening to her ideas and plans to tackle issues such as record-high office building vacancies, higher interest rates, a widening affordable housing gap, and others. 

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Commissioner Boatright provided a terrific vision of a way forward for the city and did a great job representing the administration's views on getting things done the right way.  She shared how her team’s approach is focused on “how to get to yes” when it comes to investment and development opportunities and how public-private partnerships are needed to attract inclusive investment in all of Chicago’s 77 community areas. Boatright would like to focus on opportunities that benefit everyone throughout Chicago’s downtown and various neighborhoods and is committed to implementing more innovation in the public sector for success.

Regardless of the obstacles, Ciere’s relentless commitment to investing in underserved Chicago neighborhoods will lead her to success. When Ciere was Vice President of Real Estate and Community Development at CRG, she led the planning and development of various projects and was responsible for the launch of PILLAR, CRG’s diverse developer initiative that provides support, mentoring, and technical assistance to emerging commercial developers of color.

EXCELLENT work, Ciere. I am excited to see how your innovative vision will shape the future of Chicago!

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