“Committed, passionate, articulate and extremely knowledgeable are just a few words that come to mind in working with Michael Berne. Plus, he is an American who somehow knows Canadian retail inside and out!”

– Stefano Grande, CEO, Downtown Winnipeg BIZ

Our Clients

With offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City, MJB Consulting services clients in a wide variety of settings across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Indeed, we pride ourselves on our understanding of and relish the prospect of working in different retail environments with different consumer sensibilities.

Our diversified client base ranges from municipalities, Business Improvement Districts (BID’s), non-profit development corporations, Main Street organizations, and educational institutions to private developers, landlords and retailers. We feel that our capacity to empathize with each strengthens us as problem-solvers.

The following offers a sampling of our most recent clients. Specific references can be provided upon request.

Downtown Associations/Business Improvement Districts

  • Downtown Partnership of Baltimore (MD)
  • Downtown Cleveland Alliance (OH)
  • Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PA)
  • Downtown Yonge/Toronto (ON, CA)
  • The Partnership for Downtown St. Louis (MO)
  • Downtown Long Beach Associates (CA)
  • Downtown Raleigh Alliance (NC)
  • Wichita Downtown Development Corporation (KS)
  • Fort Wayne Downtown Improvement District (IN)
  • Downtown Roanoke Inc. (VA)
  • Downtown Winnipeg BIZ (MB, CA)
  • Downtown Kitchener BIA (ON, CA)
  • New Haven Town Green Special Services District (CT)
  • Downtown Berkeley Association (CA)
  • Downtown Ithaca Alliance (NY)
  • Cherry Creek North / Denver, CO (Cherry Creek North BID)
  • Downtown / Los Angeles, CA (Downtown Center BID)
  • London Bridge / London, UK (Team London Bridge)
  • Downtown Tempe Community (AZ)
  • Castro and Upper Market / San Francisco, CA (Castro / Upper Market Community Benefit District)
  • Downtown / San Antonio, TX (Centro San Antonio)
  • Santee Alley and Fashion District / Los Angeles, CA (Fashion District BID)
  • Downtown / Hyannis, MA (Hyannis Main Street BID / Town of Barnstable / Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce / Cape Cod and Islands Association of Realtors / Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank)
  • Northern Liberties / Philadelphia, PA (Northern Liberties BID)
  • Downtown Lincoln Association (NE)
  • Downtown Dartmouth / Halifax, NS, CA (Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission)

Other

  • University of Washington (WA)
  • Saskatoon Cultural Crescent (SK, CA)
  • Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce (NY)
  • Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association (NY)
  • MetroHarford Alliance (CT)
  • Drexel University

Private

  • Alexandria Real Estate Equities (Cambridge, MA)
  • Shames-Makovsky Realty Company (Denver, CO)
  • Bonita Village LLC (Naples/Bonita Springs, FL)
  • Creekside at Beville Run LLC (Gainesville, FL)
  • Latizzori Developing Company (Mystic, CT)
  • Fred French Investing (South Norwalk, CT)
  • Southwood Holdings LLC (Squamish, BC, CA)
  • Rhodes New York (Jamaica, NY)
  • Integral Communities (Hayward, CA)
  • IKEA
  • Downtown / Greenwich, CT (Pyramid Real Estate Group)
  • Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus / Buffalo, NY (Ciminelli Real Estate)
  • Westwood Country Club / Amherst, NY (Mensch Capital Partners / Ciminelli Real Estate)
  • Arena District / Tampa, FL (Strategic Property Partners)
  • High Ridge Shopping Center / Stamford, CT (Pyramid Real Estate Group)
  • Tower City Center / Cleveland, OH (Forest City Enterprises)
  • HSP Redevelopment / Baton Rouge, LA (Dean Capital)

Organizations

  • International Council of Shopping Centers
  • International Downtown Association
  • International Economic Development Council
  • Urban Land Institute
  • PolicyLink
  • Local Initiatives Support Corporation
  • Ontario Business Improvement Area Association/Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas
  • Conference Keynote / Toronto, ON, CA (Artscape Canada)
  • Master Talk / Los Angeles, CA (California Downtown Association)
  • Conference Keynotes / Edmonton, AB, CA and Surrey, BC, CA (Business Improvement Areas of British Columbia)
  • Conference Presenter / Edinburgh, UK (Scotland’s Towns Partnership / Business Improvement Districts Scotland)
  • Master Talk / Winnipeg, MB, CA (International Downtown Association / Annual Conference)
  • Master Talk / West Palm Beach, FL (International Downtown Association / Southeast Urban District Forum)
  • Conference Keynote / Halifax, NS, CA (Art of City Building)

Main Street Organizations

  • Main Street Milwaukee/City of Milwaukee (WI)
  • Mainstreets Pittsburgh (PA)
  • Las Cruces Downtown/City of Las Cruces (NM)
  • New York State Main Street Program (NY)
  • Main Street Mobile/Downtown Mobile District Management Corporation (AL)

Government

  • City of Dallas (TX)
  • City of New Haven (CT)
  • City of Cambridge (MA)
  • City of Vallejo (CA)
  • City of Beverly Hills (CA)
  • City of San Francisco (CA)
  • U.S. Justice Department Weed & Seed Site (Modesto, CA; Utica, NY)
  • City of Fremont (CA)
  • City of Albuquerque (NM)
  • City of Tucson (AZ)
  • City of Dubuque (IA)
  • City of Wichita (KS)
  • City of Decatur (GA)
  • City of Columbus (OH)
  • City of Covington (KY)
  • County of Alameda (CA)
  • East Colfax/Denver, CO (Denver, CO)
  • New York City Department of Small Business Services (NY)
  • New York City Housing Authority (NY)
  • San Antonio Housing Authority (TX)
  • Wandsworth Borough Council (London, UK)
  • Downtown / Wake Forest, NC (Town of Wake Forest)
  • Downtown / Erie, PA (City of Erie)
  • Bethany / Bethany, OK (City of Bethany)
  • West Covina / West Covina, CA (City of West Covina)
  • Union Station TOD / New Haven, CT (City of New Haven)
  • Hill To Downtown / New Haven, CT (City of New Haven)
  • Downtown / Hayward, CA (City of Hayward)
  • Ashland and Cherryland / Alameda County, CA (County of Alameda)
  • Old Quad / Santa Clara, CA (City of Santa Clara)
  • Downtown / Vallejo, CA (City of Vallejo)
  • Downtown / San Rafael, CA (City of San Rafael / Downtown San Rafael BID)
  • Marysville / Marysville, CA (City of Marysville)
  • Summit at Fritz Farm / Lexington, KY (State of Kentucky)
  • Dublin / Dublin, CA (City of Dublin)
  • Downtown / Corpus Christi, TX (City of Corpus Christi)
  • Downtown / Minneapolis, MN (City of Minneapolis / Minneapolis Downtown Council)
  • Downtown / Berkley, MI (City of Berkley DDA)
  • Downtown / Redwood City, CA (City of Redwood City)
  • Millcreek / Millcreek, PA (Township of Millcreek)
  • Downtown / Rohnert Park, CA (City of Rohnert Park)
  • Commercial Corridors / Hayward, CA (City of Hayward)
  • Downtown / Boulder, CO (City of Boulder / Downtown Boulder Partnership)
  • Oakley / Oakley, CA (City of Oakley)
  • Wheat Ridge / Wheat Ridge, CO (City of Wheat Ridge)
  • Carlsbad Village / Carlsbad, CA (City of Carlsbad)
  • Dogtown, Beaverdale / Waveland Park, Columbus Park and Oak Park / Highland Park (City of Des Moines)

Local/Community Development Organizations

  • Brick City Development Corporation (Newark, NJ)
  • Capitalize Albany Corporation (NY)
  • Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition (OH)
  • Northway Community Trust (Minneapolis) (Minneapolis, MN)
  • Community Economic Development Fund (CT)
  • LISC Milwaukee (WI)
  • Twin Cities LISC (MN)
  • East Side Neighborhood Development Company (St. Paul, MN)
  • Jubilee Baltimore (MD)
  • Manayunk Development Corporation (PA)
  • Economic Development Corporation of New Haven (CT)
  • University Park Alliance/Akron (OH)
  • Roseland Village Plaza / Santa Rosa, CA (Burbank Housing Development Corporation)
  • Chinatown / San Francisco, CA (LISC / Chinatown CDC)
  • Dinkytown / Minneapolis, MN (Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association)