Earl L. Chase has worked in leadership and all things real estate for over two decades and uses that knowledge to build communities through affordable housing.
Earl is the executive director and vice president of Real Estate of Heartland Housing. In his role, he manages real estate development, operations, property management and resident support services.
Prior to his role with Heartland Housing, Earl worked on tax credit equity syndications, commercial lending and market rate development sides of commercial real estate. He has amassed over 20 years of leadership experience and a deep knowledge of real estate development, investment and management.
After working in the banking sector, Earl moved into the equity syndication business, working with various developers in the Upper Midwest and across the country. One project that Earl originated was The Highline in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. This mixed-use senior housing development in suburban Madison, Wisconsin provides an affordable home for seniors near health care services and transportation. Since then, he has driven innovation and worked to create high-quality housing across Chicago, and Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
According to Earl, community development should not be carried out as a one-and-done effort, but instead as a commitment to catalytic projects that attract more investment to communities, creating opportunities for the people who live there. His vision in the next 40 years is for partnership between public and private capital in unison with policies that encourage community development, which include affordable housing.
A graduate of Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), Earl holds a master’s in information science from the University of Pittsburgh and in business administration from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and five children.
