RICHARD C. MERRITT, AICP
MERRITT@EDPCO.COM

Richard C. Merritt is the President of Elliott D. Pollack and Company with responsibility for real estate consulting and project management. He also serves as Vice President of Development for the Pollack/Ramras Companies, a real estate development and syndication firm, affiliated with Elliott D. Pollack and Company. Mr. Merritt has more than twenty-five years of experience in the fields of real estate development and consulting, city planning, and project management, twenty years of which are in the Phoenix area.

Mr. Merritt specializes in economic and fiscal impact analysis, real estate market and financial feasibility, and land use analysis. He recently managed a Class A Office Market Study of Tempe, Arizona for Property Reserve, Inc of Salt Lake City and a Market potential Study of the Gilbert Downtown Heritage District. He also supervised the economic and fiscal impact study for Rio Salado Crossing, a $1.8 billion convention, stadium, hotel and entertainment complex proposed for the City of Mesa. Other work completed by Mr. Merritt includes the economic and fiscal impact of Bank One Ballpark in Downtown Phoenix, an assessment of the economic and fiscal impact of multi-family housing on the State of Arizona and the creation of a multi-family fiscal impact model for use by the local Arizona Multihousing Association.

Prior to his present employment, Mr. Merritt served as Land Development Manager for The Northern Equities Company, the developer of the Borgata of Scottsdale, with responsibility for planning, engineering and construction of the Company's projects. From 1981 through 1985, Mr. Merritt served as Planning Director and Manager of the Community Development Department for the Town of Gilbert, Arizona, located in the Phoenix metro area. Mr. Merritt had responsibility for establishing the Community Development Department for the Town and supervised its planning, building safety and engineering services. The Town more than tripled in size during his tenure as thousands of acres of land were master-planned and developed, including two 800 acre lake-oriented communities.

Mr. Merritt also served as a Planner with the City of Chandler, Arizona, another fast-growing Southeast Valley city. He served as second-in-command in the Planning and Development Department with responsibility for long-range planning, zoning and subdivision.

Mr. Merritt has a Masters of Business Administration from Arizona State University and a Bachelors of Community Planning from the University of Cincinnati. He is a Charter Member of the American Institute of Certified Planners as well as a member of several other professional organizations. He has been a lecturer at a number of planning functions and a guest speaker at the Arizona Governor's Conference on Rural Development and Economic Planning.