Ronald McDonald

Ron McDonald is Managing Principal of RMC Development, LLC, based in the Washington, DC/Baltimore region, and an adjunct professor at UMD’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (MAPP), where he serves on the Board of Visitors. He teaches negotiations and advises UMD’s NAIOP development competition team.

Across a 33-year career, Ron has led acquisition, development, leasing, and asset management assignments representing more than $6 billion in real estate equity. Before founding RMC 22 years ago, he held senior roles at LaSalle Partners (now JLL) in Los Angeles and Mesirow Financial in Chicago.

Ron has assembled and led national teams on complex public-private projects, including convention centers, stadiums, master-planned communities, and military-base initiatives. Highlights include selection by Disney Development Company as third-party development advisor and inaugural General Manager for its $100 million Frank Gehry-designed Disneyland headquarters, and leadership roles on the $1 billion expansion of Chicago’s McCormick Place and a 16-year Annapolis waterfront entitlement effort.

In 2008, he briefed the Obama administration directly on the financial crisis’s implications for commercial real estate markets nationwide. Today, he partners with Avanath Capital Management on mixed-income and affordable housing in Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, and Detroit. He is also a decorated U.S. Navy veteran.

Research interests: 

• Housing
• Public assembly
• Military base conversions (BRAC)

Affiliations:

• Real Estate Executive Council