Apartment lobby, developers nab spots on Johnson transition roster

Real estate policy discussions by Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson’s transition team won’t be totally one-sided, even as he’s made clear that measures the industry vehemently opposes are on table.

Most notably, Johnson has backed a proposal to more than triple the city’s one-time transfer tax charged on property sales of more than $1 million to 2.65 percent of the sales price. With his transition team picks, though, he ensured there would be some pushback from the Chicago-area apartment lobby, which is against the tax hike and now has a position to negotiate with one of its main advocates and a fellow mayoral transition committee member.

The apartment lobby and major developers secured spots on the roster, with real estate professionals and an industry advocate among the almost 400 people Johnson appointed to 11 subcommittees to guide his assumption of city government and his initial days in office after being sworn in on May 15.

The group will put together a written report to advise his administration, according to Sunday’s announcement.

“In order to create policies to deliver on our vision for a better, stronger, safer Chicago, we need everyone at the table,” Johnson said in a statement.

Chicagoland Apartment Association’s Michael Mini was named by the mayor-elect to a subcommittee on housing, a possible olive branch after the group endorsed Johnson’s runoff opponent Paul Vallas in part because of Johnson’s plan to raise the real estate transfer tax. It’s an idea its supporters say would raise an extra $163 million a year on average to fund social services, and they want that revenue dedicated to combating homelessness.

Julie Dworkin, the director of policy at Chicago’s Coalition for the Homeless, is a co-chair of the housing subcommittee, meaning Mini will be working alongside one of the most ardent proponents of the transfer tax plan. Mini threw his own name into the hat to be on the committee.

“We’re going to go through the process and we’ll see how it all shakes out,” he said, declining to comment further.

Dworkin, one of the three main leaders Johnson named to the housing advisory team, didn’t return a request for comment on how she plans to navigate conversations surrounding controversial issues with other members of the committee.

Sterling Bay, one of Chicago’s most prolific developers whose executives also backed Vallas, staked out a spot, as well. Keiana Barrett, the firm’s director of diversity and strategic development, got appointed to Johnson’s subcommittee on economic vitality and equity.

Johnson also indicated that he wants to hitch his wagon to the $895 million Woodlawn Central megaproject by putting the Rev. Byron Brazier on the same subcommittee. Brazier is pastor at the Apostolic Church of God, which will retain ownership of the 18-acre development site; his son, J. Byron Brazier, is the lead of the project, which is set to include workforce housing, a hotel and minority-owned businesses.

An employee of investment giant and Willis Tower owner Blackstone also made the cut. Kurt Summers, head of public-private partnerships for the firm’s infrastructure group and a former city treasurer, was also named to that subcommittee.

Other notable real estate players named to Johnson’s subcommittees include:

• Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi
• David Doig, president of Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives and part of the Bronzeville Lakefront development team
• Meg George, real estate attorney
• Graham Grady, zoning and land use attorney
• Melanie Jeffries, principal at Milhouse Development and Midwest lead at Milhouse Engineering and Construction