CRG adds industry veteran Jack Higgins as Operating Partner
CHICAGO – CRG, the real estate development and investment arm of Chicago-based Clayco, announced today that Jack Higgins has joined the firm’s executive leadership team as Operating Partner.
Higgins will lead his current portfolio of projects established at Higgins Development Partners, where he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He founded the company, headquartered in Chicago, in 1980 and has created more than $5 billion of development value across office, industrial, multifamily, laboratory, government, institutional and mixed-use projects.
“I’ve admired Jack and his contributions to Chicago’s skyline since moving here in 2011,” said Shawn Clark, President at CRG. “Jack’s deep history of large-scale development in Chicago combined with CRG’s vertically integrated delivery model has already gotten off to a fun start. You can expect some special and innovative projects to come from this team.”
Higgins has developed several prestigious Chicago buildings like 71 South Wacker (Hyatt Center), the Blue Cross Blue Shield Headquarters at 300 East Randolph Street, FCB Center and the FBI building located in the Illinois Medical District. Prior to forming Higgins Development Partners, Higgins was responsible for real estate equity and debt structure at Percy Wilson Mortgage & Finance Corporation and served in the Commercial Real Estate Division at First National Bank of Chicago.
“What (Clayco Founder) Bob Clark has built over the years is a great place for the next generation of development,” Higgins said. “They’ve created a talented and diversely integrated platform with all the right disciplines working together. I’ve developed a lot of real estate over the years, and when you have a team like this under the same roof, you can really streamline the development process. I’m looking forward to developing projects within this unique organization.”
Higgins brings extensive experience with life sciences, technology and laboratory developments like the1,200,000 square foot Arizona State Center for New Technology and Innovation in Scottsdale, the National Institute of Health’s 600,000 square foot Porter Neuroscience Research Laboratory in Bethesda, Maryland and the Food and Drug Administration’s 64,000 square foot National Forensic Chemistry Center.
In addition to his professional experience, Higgins is active in the community as a trustee for the Rush University Medical Center and formerly involved with the boards of Urban Land Institute, Loyola University, Saint Xavier University and Children of The Crossroads. He also chaired the compensation committee for Integrys Energy Group and was the co-chair of the infrastructure committee for World Business Chicago.
About CRG
CRG is a privately held real estate development firm that has developed more than 8,500 acres of land and delivered over 197 million square feet of commercial, industrial, institutional and multifamily assets exceeding $12 billion in value. CRG, headquartered in St. Louis, leverages a powerful North American platform with local market expertise and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus, Southern California and Philadelphia. CRG’s philosophy of developing for the future and anticipating the enhanced needs of next generation users led to the creation of their industrial brand, The Cubes, and their multifamily brand, Chapter. For more information, visit CRG’s website at www.realcrg.com.
About Clayco
Clayco is a full-service, turnkey real estate development, master planning, architecture, engineering, and construction firm that safely delivers clients across North America the highest quality solutions on time, on budget, and above and beyond expectations. With $3.25 billion in revenue for 2019, Clayco specializes in the “art and science of building,” providing fast track, efficient solutions for industrial, commercial, institutional and residential related building projects. For more information visit www.claycorp.com.