Cal Boender
Cal Boender is the Founding Owner, President, and Chief Executive Officer of North Development. He has led the firm's diversification into diverse markets, including selective real estate sales and cash-equivalent investment. With over 35 years of real estate experience, Boender has developed a number of business skills, including strategic thinking, problem-solving, business management, and employee development and training. He focuses on investing in and redeveloping residential, commercial, and industrial properties.
Cal Boender Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Founding Owner, President, and Chief Executive Officer
Academic History
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Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, With Honors
PERSONAL LIFE AND PHILANTHROPY
- Boender was raised in the Dutch Christian Reformed area of Highland, Indiana.
- He now resides in the suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two dogs, where he enjoys reading and biking.
- He is a major contributor to various philanthropic causes and non-profit organizations that address the needs of children and less fortunate individuals.
CAREER
- Boender began his pioneering journey through the Chicago real estate landscape in the early 1980s by rehabbing historic properties in Chicago's DePaul neighborhood.
- He continued to prosper in all sectors through the boom, and ultimate crash in the 2000s.
- He started North Development—originally named C&D Construction Company—immediately after graduating from college.
- He moved the firm to the Chicago area in 1980 and changed the name to North Development in 1986.
- He is now developing Renew Biomass, an agricultural service that provides eco-friendly biomass products.
- He focuses his energy and knowledge on the impacts of agricultural real estate and is a guiding authority on how it will play a vital role in the future of global economics.
LEARNINGS
- Boender says that he is not the sole power driving his financial success; the economic cycles were absolutely in control.
- He says that if your goal is a continued success, you should never try to flow against these cycles.
- He believes that the underlying historical cycles in the marketplace are an essential aspect of his business decisions.
- Being a garbage truck driver taught him the Chicago street grid, a knowledge that has been fundamental when looking for real estate development projects in the city.
- His college education put him in a position to meet his first business partner, Doug Masolink.