This month’s special guest is Courtney D. Pogue, Director of Economic Development for the City of Dallas, Texas. As Director, Courtney oversees a department that fostered more than $300 million in private investment in 2016-17. He oversees a staff of 35 with departmental budget of $8 million. Additionally, Courtney manages the following programs for the City of Dallas: tax increment financing, new markets tax credits, Section 380, tax abatement, and small business development.
Prior to joining the City of Dallas, Courtney was the Director of Economic Development for Clayton County, Georgia. As Director, he implemented Clayton County’s (population of 280K; home to the world’s busiest airport) 2013 Economic Development Plan, resulting in improvement to the county’s overall economic vitality: higher per capita income, reduced unemployment, expansion of the labor force, and increased household income. He assessed the viability of potential transactions based on financial feasibility and economic impact modeling.
Selected Accomplishments/Primary Projects:
• Exceeded all department goals, including business attraction, expansion and retention activities, for 2016 along with small business development initiatives; Generated more than 2,014 jobs and $170M investment.
• Introduced strategies that helped reduce the unemployment rate by 33% (from 8.4% to 5.8%) over 24 months.
• Secured commitments for approximately 2,500 jobs and $250M of investment over 24 months.
Prior to joining Clayton County, Courtney served as the Deputy Director of Economic Development for Cook County, the 2nd largest county in the country, where he managed a wide array of economic development initiatives and programs. Courtney’s role with Cook County included managing the $30 million BUILT in Cook Loan Program and management of all commercial property tax incentives administered by the County. During his time in Cook County, Courtney and his team fostered more than $400 million in private investment which supported more than 16,000 jobs.
Prior to joining Cook County, Courtney founded Chicago-based Waterworks Group, an economic development and real estate advisory services firm based that focuses on urban real estate development. Since 2003, Courtney has worked on more than $500 million in commercial and residential development projects. Overall, he has successfully assisted clients in obtaining more than $150 million of public subsidies which have included: Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), Tax Increment Financing (TIF), New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC), andh other public financing sources and incentives. Prior to forming his company, Courtney worked at the First National Bank of Chicago, the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, and Cohen Financial.
Courtney is also a licensed managing real estate broker in the State of Illinois, a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP), and a Certified Property Manager (CPM). He is affiliated with the Urban Land Institute (ULI), International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Commercial Institute of Real Estate Investment (CCIM), International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors (CAR), and Lambda Alpha International, Ely Chapter.
Courtney was awarded the designation as a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) by the IEDC. Additionally, he holds the EDFP and HDFP designations from the National Development Council (NDC). Courtney also holds an MBA from the University of Notre Dame and a BBA in Finance from Howard University.
