Chan Expands Fairstead’s Portfolio

During her young career, Estelle Chan has led the acquisition and development of more than 3,000 affordable homes and $600 million in transaction volume across the country and counting.

As senior director of development at Fairstead—one of the country’s largest affordable housing owners—Chan plays a key role in expanding the firm’s national portfolio, including leading high-impact projects in Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Virginia.

“My background is in city planning, and, coming out of graduate school, I was running though the different asset classes in my h

ead, wondering what really interested me,” says Chan. “I just kept coming back to affordable housing. … Providing good and functional housing for everyone sounds like a really nice way to spend my time.”

Chan recently led the acquisition of a nearly 700-unit portfolio of Section 8 housing in Newark, New Jersey, and is on track to expand the Essex Plaza campus to 1,100 units of mixed-income housing in the coming years.

She also worked on the acquisition and rejuvenation of Peaceful Village in Chesapeake, Virginia. In partnership with the Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Chan is guiding a transformative reinvestment in the 65-unit formerly public housing community. It is Fairstead’s first federal Rental Assistance Demonstration/Section 18 conversion outside of New York City.

True to her belief that affordable housing is more than shelter, she championed the creation of a community center there, a first for the neighborhood.

“I say that my favorite deal is the last one I did,” Chan says. “You can’t have any favorites among the children.”

Prior to joining Fairstead seven years ago, Chan worked at real estate firm Omni New York. She began her career as an intern at Jonathan Rose Cos., another prominent affordable housing developer.

The 39-year-old’s influence stretches far beyond her role at Fairstead. She is active in the Coastal Virginia chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Women network and is a member of Women in Housing & Finance in New York City, where she serves as a career mentor.

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