Will Tippens joined the Chicago office of the Related Companies, Related Midwest, in 1996 with an expertise in land entitlement, master planning and historic preservation. At Related Midwest he manages and coordinates all municipal agency communications and applications as they relate specifically to zoning, other entitlements and permitting. A particular emphasis is on City of Chicago Agencies and other governmental entities.

With a specific expertise in historic preservation, Will identifies development opportunities, particularly those which can take advantage of the historic tax credit leveraged with the low income housing tax credit. He is responsible for managing and directing all efforts associated with achieving historic tax credits or other incentives associated with historic preservation projects.

Prior to joining Related, Will gained eight years of experience in planning and preservation in the public sector. He worked for the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, where he was involved with over 200 residential, commercial and institutional Planned Unit Developments and Lakefront Protection projects including the relocation of Lake Shore Drive at Chicago’s historic lakefront Museum Campus and the expansion of the McCormick Place south hall.

Prior to his work at the City, Will was with the Office of Research and Planning at the Chicago Park District. He helped to establish their preservation program, which oversees in excess of 500 historic structures and over 7,000 acres of historic designed landscapes. He was involved with such notable restorations as Cafe Brauer in Lincoln Park, Jens Jensen’s prairie waterfalls at Columbus Park as well as being a co-curator of two exhibitions on park planning, architecture and landscape architecture.

He is Trustee of the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation, on the Board of Directors of Landmarks Illinois, where he served as board chair from July of 2015 through June of 2017, and serves on the board of the Ely Chapter of Lambda Alpha International. Will holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Science degree in Historic Preservation and Conservation from Columbia University.