In order to be effective in the Economic Development field one must be creative, passionate and energetic. Ricardo Noguera displays these skillsets. Often times, working to attract and grow industry in cities, a pro-active and out-of-the box approach to marketing is key. Ricardo has successfully achieved success utilizing these skill sets in Hayward and Union City, CA. (San Francisco Bay Area) to attract manufacturing, light industrial and technology companies. In the cities of Union City (Union Landing Retail Center), East Palo Alto (Gateway/101 Retail Center), Visalia (Mooney Blvd. Corridor), he has recruited several national retailers including: IKEA, Macy’s, Bass Pro Sports, Hobby Lobby, Buffalo Wild Wings and many more. The ability to transfer this passion to other staff is key to the success in economic development which Ricardo has done admirably with subordinate staff in each city he has worked in.

Ricardo has also worked in distressed communities such as East Palo Alto, North Miami, South Central Los Angeles, and Tacoma, WA. converting underperforming and undeveloped public assets to private revenue and employment generating developments. Many of these properties were owned by the municipalities for several years and were blighted. For example, in East Palo Alto, the former Redevelopment Agency owned and acquired more than 50 acres of blighted properties. Ricardo's efforts following the City's Redevelopment Plans, led to the sale of these properties to successful private developers who built a Class A Office Development (400,000 sf) and a 40-acre retail power center anchored by IKEA and Home Depot. In North Miami, Ricardo led efforts to sell a 125-acre former landfill to a private developer to build a mixed-use community along Biscayne Bay. Ricardo also oversaw the entitlement process, predevelopment activities and construction phases as the City's Community Planning & Development Director. In Tacoma, Washington, there were more than a dozen city-owned properties located throughout the Downtown area which were either undeveloped or underdeveloped. Ricardo led efforts to sell these properties through an RFP process: a Chinese developer acquired the convention center's parking lot and is now constructing a Marriott Hotel; another Chinese developer acquired a 6.4 acre site in the Brewery District and is constructing a town center with 600 residential units, 200,000 sf retail space and approximately 50,000 sf of office space; a Vietnamese developer acquired an underutilized city library parking lot and is developing a mixed-use project on the lot; and there are several more properties owned by governmental agencies where Ricardo led efforts to sell to private developers and develop vibrant mixed-use developments throughout Downtown Tacoma and in the Hilltop Neighborhood. It takes tenacity and the willingness not to give up in order to turn economically distressed communities around. Ricardo has these skill sets and has proven his effectiveness time and time again.