Each year, Midwest Real Estate News inducts a new class into its Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame. This year is no exception. Today, we look at the busy career of one of our new inductees, Shawn Clark, principal and president of CRG|Integrated Real Estate Solutions in Chicago.
How much of an influence does Shawn Clark have on the commercial real estate market? As president of CRG, he has helped turn the Chicago-based firm into a national powerhouse, one that has developed more than 9,000 acres of land and delivered more than 200 million square feet of commercial, industrial, institutional and multifamily assets exceeding $13 billion in value.
That’s a big impact. And Clark is still working to make CRG an even bigger player in the CRE world.
Under Clark’s leadership, CRG has grown from six people into a national real estate and development powerhouse with a team of 75 and $1 billion in new development starts annually.
“I enjoy the people in the commercial real estate industry,” Clark said. “There are many intelligent and creative people with a similar passion for putting deals together. I’ve learned so much from great friends and mentors in the business. I also love working with people to develop deal structures that can accommodate all the parties involved. There is always a way to ensure that everyone walks away with their most crucial deal point.”
With more than a decade of experience in the commercial real estate industry, Clark is responsible for CRG’s strategic direction. In addition, he is active in deal structuring, fund and project level financing activities, development management and asset management.
An example of Clark’s leadership? In 2018, he established CRG’s national pipeline of investment opportunities and led fund-raising activity for U.S. Logistics Fund I. This fund supported the development of more than $420 million of Class-A industrial assets delivered by the close of 2019.
Also under Clark’s leadership, CRG launched U.S. Logistics Fund II in 2021, opening access to industrial deals for an entirely new investor type. Key to this change is the fund’s focus on inclusion. USLF II targeted 10 percent investment from minority investors, providing access to historically disadvantaged groups.
Clark is always looking to challenge the status quo. He developed CRG with the goal of creating the most vertically integrated real estate investment management firm with investment management, development, design and build platforms. Clark further expanded CRG’s asset class focus to include multifamily and mixed-use projects.
In 2020, he recruited a team of residential experts to scale CRG’s multifamily, mixed-use and student housing platform, which has already closed more than $300 million of new projects.
Clark is also a philanthropic and community leader. He oversees research grants at the Clayco Foundation and partners with universities and medical institutions to help fight Retinal Vasculopathy and Cerebral Leukodystrophy, a rare genetic disease. Clark oversees a team of scientists that discovered the gene mutation and continues the search to cure RCVL. He also founded The Clayco Foundation and created Illumination, an annual Halloween Gala in Chicago, which has raised more than $5 million to support this life-saving mission.
Clark’s success stems from his willingness to work hard. But when asked why he’s managed to succeed in this business, Clark also pointed to the people with whom he works.
“Honesty and hard work,” Clark said. “We’ve also focused hard on strategy and hired very talented people to join us in our mission. It’s a combination of great people, vision and doing what you say you will do.”
Outside of work, Clark prefers spending time with his family. This is especially true today: He and his wife had a baby this year.
“We have fun keeping him entertained,” Clark said.
