Mayor names ‘Greening Czar’

By Maddy Madrazo

Mayor Eric L. Johnson on Tuesday named Garrett Boone the City of Dallas’s first-ever Greening Czar. Boone will lead Mayor Johnson’s priority initiative to transform vacant, unused and underused City-owned land into green space.

“This announcement supports a bigger dream of mine,” Mayor Johnson said. “A dream of a greener and greater Dallas for all!”

Boone, co-founder and chairman emeritus of The Container Store, is a successful entrepreneur, environmentalist, conservationist and philanthropist. For decades, he has championed transformational park projects across Dallas. 

He serves on a variety of boards of organizations leading efforts in Dallas to protect the environment and create beautiful outdoor gathering spaces, including The Boone Family Foundation, the Trinity Park Conservancy and Greenspace Dallas.

“I selected Garrett Boone because of his unmatched passion for green spaces,” Mayor Johnson said. “I respect him immensely and trust he will bring the right stakeholders to the table to determine the highest and best uses of available parcels of city-owned land in Dallas — be it transformation into a playground, sports court, pocket prairie, community garden or traditional park.”

As Greening Czar, Boone will review the inventory of city-owned land that Mayor Johnson requested Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax produce in November 2022 following his State of the City Address. 

Boone will be responsible for developing a plan to transform properties on the list into enhanced green spaces. The mayor said he will rely on Boone to develop a vision and then identify the public and private resources required to achieve meaningful results soon.