Rob York began the New Year with a new adventure: the founding of his own retail and mixed-use development consulting firm, York Consulting Group LLC.

“It was time to try something new, to make a change and shake the cobwebs loose, and make sure that I was spending my time on all the things I wanted to focus on,” York said.

He had worked at Fransen Co. in Santa Monica for 16 years. With his new firm, York provides retail, mixed-use consulting to developers, cities, retailers and institutional investors.

“I’m not trying to create a huge, huge business,” he said. “I just want to work on good projects and make a difference in those projects.”

York works with design specialists, economic analysts and experts in other key areas to create development teams wherever he sees opportunity. He describes his approach as a more active form of consulting that varies from project to project, and that’s what York says is the intellectual challenge of what he does.

“It’s always fascinating to think how you can innovate and how you can improve and be financially viable,” York said. “I try and bring a strong sense of market reality to everything I work on.”

York grew up in New York, and attended Tulane University in New Orleans for both undergraduate and graduate studies. When he came to Los Angeles he didn’t expect it to be a permanent move, but ended up staying because he saw it as “the epicenter of new and exciting things.”

York cites working on the downtown Santa Monica revitalization project for the past 15 years as one of his favorites.

“Private sector projects are more lucrative, but when you can see a downtown where people really live and spend their time, it’s nice to have long relationships,” York said.

He lives in Century City with his wife, Becky, and 4-year-old son, Spencer.