Team CityCraft
Significant Experience
John L. Knott, Jr.
Founder and President of CityCraft, Owner
John L. Knott, Jr. is an internationally recognized leader in the regeneration of urban real estate, infrastructure, energy and environmental systems. He is the creator of the CityCraft process, which is a development and city planning process that restores the economic, environmental and social health of cities. Mr. Knott is a recognized thought leader and keynote speaker on sustainable development, the green economy and restoration of cities. A third-generation developer, Mr. Knott has over 40 years of experience in urban redevelopment. His award-winning projects include work at: the Baltimore Inner Harbor, urban areas in Baltimore and Washington DC; the University of Texas Health Science Center in the Houston Medical Center; Dewees Island in South Carolina; and the Noisette Community of North Charleston in South Carolina. As The Health Product Declaration Collaborative’s first Executive Director, John worked with companies and individuals committed to the continuous improvement of the building industry‚ environmental and health performance, through transparency and innovation in the building product supply chain. As President/CEO and co-founder of the Noisette Company, LLC, John led the Noisette Project development team, which collaborated with the City of North Charleston, South Carolina, in the sustainable restoration of 3,000 acres of the city’s historic urban core and areas of the former Charleston Naval Base. Mr. Knott also served as the CEO/Managing Director of Island Preservation Partnership, which developed the 1,206-acre Dewees Island oceanfront retreat dedicated to environmental preservation. For more on John go here.
W. Andrew Gowder, Jr.
General Counsel
Andy Gowder is General Counsel for CityCraft Ventures, LLC. Andy is a shareholder with the Charleston-based law firm of Pratt-Thomas Walker, P.A. His practice is focused on land use, environmental and real property law, local government, and corporate formation and governance for both profit and nonprofit organizations. Mr. Gowder writes and speaks on legal topics relating to land use, urbanism, planning, sustainability and the environment. He is a co-editor of Tax Increment Financing and is an author in Greening Local Government, both published in 2012 by ABA Publishing. He was a co-author of A Legal Guide to Urban and Sustainable Development and was a contributor to the 2008-2010 editions of the book, At the Cutting Edge, Land Use Law from the Urban Lawyer. He is a member and holds leadership positions in the American Bar Association, State and Local Government Law Section (Chair of the Section 2013-2014); the South Carolina Bar, where he has served as a member of the House of Delegates for almost two decades; the Urban Land Institute, as Assistant Chair of the Sustainable Development Council and immediate past Chair and current Governance Chair of ULI South Carolina. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Wake Forest University School of Law, and his B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Wofford College. He is admitted to the bars of South Carolina, where he is a certified mediator, the United States District Court for South Carolina and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
