Richard D. Baron -

Co-Founder and Chairman McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc

Richard D. Baron is co-founder and chairman of McCormack Baron Salazar, a real-estate development company focusing on revitalizing urban areas throughout the United States, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The firm, founded in 1973, has developed 182 communities that have resulted in 19,703 residential units and 1.4 million square feet of retail/commercial space with development costs in access of $3.5 billion.

McCormack Baron Salazar projects have been awarded seven Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grants in San Francisco, Sacramento, Columbus, New Orleans, San Antonio, Memphis and Pittsburgh. The firm has also received allocations of $220 million New Markets Tax Credits, which have been used for economic development in its redevelopment areas.

In addition to his leadership of McCormack Baron Salazar, Mr. Baron is the founder and developer of The Center of Creative Arts (COCA), in University City, Missouri, which serves more than 50,000 students annually. It is one of the most important community art centers in the United States.

In October 2004, Richard Baron received The Urban Land Institute J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development. He is a graduate of Oberlin College and holds a masters degree in political science from the University of California-Berkeley, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan