Our History

In 1967, Bob Lesser, then an architect and developer, was asked to help craft the development program for what is now Thousand Oaks Town Center in Southern California. In carrying out this assignment, he found that the creativity and financial imagination required for the study were extremely stimulating—so much so that he started Robert Charles Lesser & Co. (now RCLCO).

Over fifty years later, RCLCO has grown in expertise, now serves a diverse array of client types, and works around the globe, helping our clients make strategic, effective, and enduring decisions about real estate.

We are proud to be the “first call” for organizations seeking strategic and tactical advice regarding property investment, planning, and development. Our team leverages quantitative analytics and a strategic planning framework to provide end-to-end business planning and implementation solutions at an entity, portfolio, or project level. RCLCO is organized into three overlapping and reinforcing service areas: real estate economics, management consulting, and advisory services for institutional investors through RCLCO Fund Advisors.

Our Core Values

We are dedicated to adding value to our clients.
We strive to achieve excellence and innovation in everything that we do.
We aim to enjoy our work and the people with whom we work.
We seek opportunities to promote greater economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

Leadership

RCLCO is able to consistently deliver leading-edge solutions by bringing together highly talented people in a creative and collaborative environment. The diverse experiences and knowledge bases of our team allow us to partner with clients to answer key questions and solve complex issues, with strategic guidance that is market driven, analytically based, and financially sound.

We Work With

Developers / Homebuilders
Institutional Investors
Investors
The Public Sector
Operators
Industry Partners
Non-Real Estate Companies
Law Firms

Work With Us

ESG Initiatives

Leading the industry toward effective ESG solutions

RCLCO’s mission and core values are the firm’s “true north” and guide our approach to addressing real estate’s, and our own business’, environmental, social, and governance implications. As stewards of the built environment, we seek to positively impact the environmental sustainability and societal implications of real estate. As an industry leader for 5+ decades, aiming to grow for at least 5 decades more, we look inward to determine ways to improve our environmental impacts and the lives of our team members.

RCLCO leadership has charged its ESG Committee to measure, analyze, and recommend concrete actions to improve the firm’s environmental impact, diversity, equity, inclusion, and governance.

A focus on ESG is fundamentally about identifying the risks and opportunities to our clients and ourselves that arise from factors that haven’t traditionally been appreciated in conventional diligence or other analyses. Specific ways in which we’re bringing this focus to bear include:

Within our analyses, we identify opportunities to preserve/create housing affordability, eco-friendly features, and highlight risks to resiliency
We are thought leaders on key ESG topics, including affordable & workforce housing, conservation communities, and impacts of climate change
For RFA’s investor clients, we integrate ESG into due-diligence & manager selection, and climate risk into investment decisions & asset monitoring

The RCLCO Foundation

The Foundation is committed to making a meaningful difference in the practice and policy of affordable housing, by encouraging and facilitating the development of balanced communities.

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RCLCO Press Releases

Catch up on major firm updates and changes.