Margaret McCauley

Biography: With her colleagues at Downtown Works, the retail consulting firm she founded, Midge McCauley creates and implements sustainable retail strategies that turn decaying urban zones into vibrant, vital downtowns. Also, a key component of their downtown and neighborhood consulting practice is creating retail master plans for ground up mixed-use urban development. Since her days working with legendary retail developer and real estate visionary Jim Rouse, McCauley has garnered recognition among leading national, regional and local retailers for her comprehensive retail consulting talents. She is an expert on the repositioning, leasing and merchandising of retail districts. Skilled in all phases of consulting for large urban markets, smaller business- improvement districts and private developers, her broad experience extends to concept development, leasing strategies and tenant-mix concepts, often working in collaboration with developers, civic groups, urban planners and design professionals. McCauley’s method combines quantitative data, such as demo- and psycho- graphics, with rigorous qualitative observation. Throughout her career, she has drawn on the resources and perspectives of retailers, private developers, corporations, urban planners, and design professionals to help her clients successfully transform their downtowns into dynamic environments that serve the needs of residents, professionals, and visitors alike. Among other appointments, McCauley serves on the Board of the Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance. She is former Chair of the American Institute of Architect’s Retail and Entertainment Knowledge Community Advisory Group and board member of the International Downtown Association. As a full member of the Urban Land Institute, she was part of a team of experts tapped to develop the Ten Principles for Rebuilding Neighborhood Retail and is a member of the Urban Revitalization Council. Ms. McCauley is frequently invited to share her knowledge at uni