|
Dreamer
and doer, visionary and pragmatist, Dick Fleming learned well from
his mentors — such men as Dan Sweat, Atlanta's business-civic-foundation
impresario, and James Rouse, lead shopping center and model town
developer-turned-leader for affordable housing for Americans of
all classes and races.
For
over 25 years, Fleming has been an active civic entrepreneur, engaged
in initiatives to revitalize center cities and metropolitan areas
from Atlanta to Denver, and now St. Louis as President and Chief
Executive Officer of the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association
(RCGA).
In
the private sector, he was a developer with The Rouse Company in
Baltimore. In that capacity, he was a planner and developer of the
15,000-acre Columbia New Town in suburban Baltimore and the Faneuil
Hall downtown retail project in Boston. Subsequently Fleming worked
with Dan Sweat of Central Atlanta Progress to redefine the role
of center city organizations in downtown design, planning and management.
In
Colorado, Fleming served as founding President of the Downtown Denver
Partnership and then as President of the Greater Denver Chamber
of Commerce, forging a model economic development alliance of communities
from across the metropolitan region. He was instrumental (and is
now seen as a pioneer) in the revitalization of downtown Denver,
the Colorado Convention Center, the sensitive city-county negotiations
leading to agreement on the new Denver International Airport, and
the recruitment of major league baseball to Denver.
Under
Fleming's direction, the St. Louis RCGA has been a driving force
in the region registering a net gain of over 100,000 net jobs since
1995, in contrast to a prior decade of virtually no net job growth.
Fleming has also led the RCGA to offset the area's reputation as
an Old Economy town by declaring itself America's BioBelt center,
focused on raising venture capital and public funds to create a
21st century biotechnology center focused especially on plant sciences.
Earlier
in his career, Fleming served at the national level as a sub-cabinet
officer at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
in Washington where, as Deputy Assistant Secretary, he oversaw the
$3 billion Community Development Block Grant Program and was a principal
architect of the $1.2 billion Urban Development Action Grant Program
(UDAG). His national leadership continues to this day in active
involvement with such organizations as the Urban Land Institute
and Partners for Livable Communities.
|
