Randi Lathrop is the President & CEO of RG Lathrop Consulting LLC, based in Boston. Her focus areas are Development Consulting, Government Relations, Urban Planning and Zoning, Community / Business Engagement, Business Development / Economic Development and Retail Assistance.

Randi Lathrop was the former Director of Business Development at the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), now called Boston Planning & Development Agency ( BPDA), which is the planning and economic development agency for the City of Boston. The new Business Development Division was created to dedicate more attention and energy to our relationships with the business community. This included existing businesses, and recruiting new businesses to Boston. The former business division oversaw retail, industrial, commercial, manufacturing, life tech, bio tech, creative economy, the innovation district and innovation for Boston and the ONEin3 program

Randi was the former Deputy Director of Community Planning at the BRA for 10 years. She managed the community planning staff for the department, which oversees planning initiatives, and rezoning for the neighborhoods of Boston. She personally focused on the redevelopment of Washington Street in Boston’s South End/Lower Roxbury for the last 25 years. Since 2004, she also focused on the identity and branding strategy for Boston‘s Downtown area, and also worked closely with the property owners on creating the first businesses improvement district for Boston: the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District. In 2004.  She worked with the residents, property owners, and the business community adopting the planning that lead to new zoning for the Fenway neighborhood; adopted the planning that led to new zoning for the Harrison/ Albany area in the South End, worked with a team of City Hall departments adopting the first City of Boston Food Truck Initiative and the planning and zoning for the Christian Science Plaza Revitalization Project. Lathrop was also the co-director of the award-winning master plan for the Massachusetts Turnpike Air Rights, paving the way for Fenway Center – the first air rights project built in the last two decades.

Lathrop, a former teacher and arts gallery manager for 18 years, moved to Boston’s South End in 1986 and took on an active role in her neighborhood’s revitalization efforts. She was past president of the Blackstone Franklin Square Neighborhood Association and a founding member of the Washington Street Neighborhood Association. She later chaired Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s Washington Street Task Force and was named the first president of Washington Gateway Main Street Inc., a business development and neighborhood improvement organization dedicated to developing and sustaining the economic vitality of the 1.4-mile district along Washington Street in the Boston’s South End and Lower Roxbury. Lathrop served as president from 1997 to 2007.  Since the organization’s formation, more than $1B has been invested in Washington Street area from public/private partnerships. The National Trust for Historic Preservation and its National Trust Main Street Center awarded Washington Gateway Main Street with its 2005 Great American Main Street Award for its successful revitalization efforts. American Planning Association also named Washington Street one of its Great Places in America in 2008.

Randi is a volunteer Board Member of South End Business Alliance (SEBA) , a volunteer membership  business organization in the South End of Boston. Representing ALL businesses in the South End ( home businesses, ground floor retail and food establishments, consultants, office, artists, and non profits)  www.sebaboston.com

AWARDS:

Randi received the New England Women in Real Estate (NEWIRE) 2014 Public Service Award. She has been named the Boston Municipal Research Bureau’s 2011 Henry L. Shattuck Public Service Award in recognition for her outstanding contributions to the City of Boston. The Fenway Alliance Exceptional Spirit Award 2011  for her City of Boston’s work in the Fenway neighborhood.

IREM (Institute of Real Estate Management) Boston Metropolitan Chapter, Life Time Achievement Award, November 13, 2014

Click to see full list of awards

Randi was on the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District board representing the Mayor of Boston and was past President for 10 years of Washington Gateway Main Street , Boston’s Main Street program in the South End of Boston and now is a board member .

EDUCATION:

Green Mountain University: AA
Lesley University, Cambridge MA: BS, Magna Cum Laude
Lesley University, Cambridge, MA: MS, Magna Cum Laude

EXPERIENCE:

• Knowledgeable about Boston’s urban planning initiatives, and planning areas in Boston.

• Strong knowledge of the Article 80 development review process and Zoning Boards of Appeals (ZBA) and Zoning Commission in Boston.

• Strong understanding of community engagement.

• Strong knowledge of permitting and licensing for businesses in Boston.

• Strong knowledge of Boston’s business economy: life sciences, industrial and commercial, creative economy, startups and innovation, access to capital and retail.

• Strong understanding of the retail sector.

• Knowledgeable about Business Improvement Districts: worked with Downtown Boston property owners to create Boston’s first Business Improvement District in Downtown Boston.

• Knowledgeable about Boston Main Street program.

• Strong understanding of branding, marketing and social media.

• Familiar with Boston’s Food Truck program.

• Knowledgeable about pushcart programs and mobile retail trucks.

• Started Boston Art Window program in Boston: placing art, craft, pop-up art stores and nonprofits in empty storefronts in Boston.

• Experience working with many long time existing retailers and new businesses In Boston. Randi has extensive retail experience in the private sector/non profits has given her expertise to assist a business with community engagement, permitting, and also financing through public and private resources.

• Knowledgeable about grants and loans for Small Businesses in Boston and has proudly done some pro-bono work for long term businesses to stabilize their future in a community for years to come.