Mayor Johnson names Garrett Boone as Greening Czar
Boone will lead the mayor’s initiative to make Dallas “greener and greater” for all.
DALLAS — 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 & 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.”
In March 2023, Mayor Johnson appointed Boone chair of the City of Dallas’s Parks & Trails Subcommittee formed as part of the 2024 Bond Program development process — a position the mayor said will complement Boone’s new role.
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.
“I look forward to working with Mayor Johnson, the residents of Dallas, and local partners to create the most park-laden city in the world,” Boone said. “Dallas is full of natural beauty hidden in plain sight. This initiative will help elevate neighborhoods.”
During the news conference, Ray Garvin, The Trust for Public Land’s Texas Director of Philanthropy, praised Boone’s support for “big, bold projects” like the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt, which will provide convenient access to parks, trails, and green spaces to nearly 187,000 residents of Oak Cliff — one of Dallas’s most historically underserved neighborhoods.
“The Trust for Public Land team stands at the ready to help Garrett Boone lead Mayor Johnson’s vision for a parks renaissance in Dallas,” Garvin said.
According to The Trust for Public Land, the City of Dallas and its nonprofit partners have brought new parks and trails within a 10-minute walk of nearly 300,000 residents since 2014. And ample opportunities for the addition of parks, trails, and green spaces remain in Dallas. A newly released national survey found that Dallas has more vacant land than any other major city in the U.S., with close to 91,000 acres of vacant property available for development.
“I am excited about the launch of this effort,” Mayor Johnson said. “Creating new green spaces out of land the City of Dallas already owns can improve the quality of life of countless residents, children, and families across Dallas.”
