Over the years Brian McMahon worked with private property owners and community organizations on planning and visioning studies. In the early 1980s he did a pre-development study of an industrial complex in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Proposed bridge to Long Island City
At one time Brian McMahon and his partners owned a dozen buildings in Greenpoint. He created an extensive public relations campaign to promote the neighborhood encompassed visioning, mapping, demonstration projects, history and art exhibits, aerial photography, post cards, lectures, advertising, and the like. His house at 16 Clifford Place was the centerpiece of these efforts
After moving to Minnesota in 1990, McMahon worked as executive director of University United, a community organization in the Twin Cities. He created a storefront planning and design studio staffed with professional architects and planners and volunteers, to work directly with community members as clients. Over a ten-year period, this non-profit organization published a dozen planning studies preparing the community for a planned light rail project connecting Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Brian McMahon Preservation 