Richard A. Hanson Biography

Richard A. Hanson
Principal, Avison Young

Rich Hanson, CPA, CRE, is founder and a principal in Mesa Development LLC—a real estate development firm that specializes in commercial, retail and residential project development. He has extensive industry experience and current leadership in national real estate organizations that bring both a broad perspective and a keen focus to developing strategies and services for the full cycle of clients’ real estate usage.

Rich has been at the forefront of commercial development, real estate finance and taxation consulting, corporate advisory services, budgeting and economic incentive procurement. Today at Mesa Development, he directs his firms’ development activities in land, residential and commercial development. In forming Mesa he has created a focused development entity which is involved in over 3,800 residential units and projects in the Midwest and West Coast.

Rich is a certified public accountant, a graduate of St. Joseph’s College and has an M.S. in Taxation from DePaul University. He also holds a CRE (Counselors of Real Estate) designation.

Affiliations

Chicago Realty Club – Past President
City Colleges of Chicago Foundation – Past Board of Directors
Civic Federation – Past Executive Committee
Counselors of Real Estate 2008 National Chairman of the Board
DePaul University – Board of Trustees
Economic Club of Chicago
Founding Sponsor and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Real Estate Center
at DePaul University
James E. Gibbons Educational Trust – Trustee
Lawson House YMCA – Past Chairman, Board of Directors
Metropolitan YMCA of Chicago – Board of Managers
National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) –
Past President, Chicago Chapter
Real Estate Investment Association (REIA) – Past President
Urban Land Institute – ULI District Council, Chicago – Executive Committee
Urban Land Institute, The Preservation Compact – Vice Chairman