Empire State Development exec leaving for YMCA

Joe Chan, the head of the Empire State Development Corporation’s real estate division, is leaving for a position with the YMCA.

Chan, who played a role in the Penn Station redevelopment among several state projects, will oversee the the development and expansion of the nonprofit’s 2 million square feet of real estate assets in the city. 

As an executive vice president at the state development agency, Chan oversaw several major projects including the redevelopment of the James A. Farley Post Office into Moynihan Train Hall and the plan to expand the Javits Center.

Chan had accepted the YMCA job earlier this summer, but felt obligated to stay until the Penn Station project had reached the critical point of choosing developers, he told Crain’s. After the Related Companies [TRDataCustom] and Vornado Realty Trust were awarded the job for the Moynihan Train Hall redevelopment and the state is close to selecting a development team for the Javits Center, he felt ready to move on, Chan said.

The YMCA is looking to expand into the Bronx and other underserved areas. Chan intends to develop the nonprofit’s underutilized real estate.

Before joining the development agency in 2011, Chan was a founder and president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, a booster organization that has become an influential force in that neighborhood’s resurgence in recent years. [Crain’s] — Chava Gourarie