Commercial and Residential Real Estate Agent: Age 37
Ted Hanna didn’t start out in the real estate world, but he recalls how that career took flight — literally and figuratively.
Specifically, he worked in corporate aviation. “I started at Westfield-Barnes, and then I went out to Hanscom Field in Bedford. That company had a bunch of bases around the state, but my main post was a $25 million private jet facility, where I got hired on as a general manager,” he explained, adding that, from there, he worked as airport manager at Westover Metropolitan Airport.
A large portion of his work at Westover was buying up residential property around the airport through an FAA grant, relocating residents to nicer properties and paying their moving expenses, and converting the land to more airport-friendly uses.
During COVID, when people cut back on flying, Hanna decided to pivot into real estate. Today, working with Cohn & Company Real Estate, he’s a five-time Platinum Sales Award recipient, and as managing partner of Hanna Investment Group, he has built and manages a growing portfolio in Shelburne Falls that includes three mixed-use properties supporting 31 tenants. He also co-owns, with his brother, 5 State CoWorking.
“When we bought the historic McCusker’s building in 2023,” Hanna said of his foray into investment in Shelburne Falls, “we thought, ‘how cool would it be to renovate this crown jewel, this building where we grew up, going to market and getting pieces of cheese handed over the counter by Mike McCusker? To invest in the community where I live is so special.”
So is his service on the Shelburne Falls Community Alliance, which promotes downtown revitalization; his volunteerism in schools with the Shelburne Police Department’s community outreach team, and his work co-organizing, with two others, the West County Community Meals Program — an initiative spearheaded by his father for a quarter-century. Every Friday evening at Trinity Church, a volunteer team serves meals to anyone who shows up.
“It’s called the community meal because it’s for the community,” Hanna said. “Whether you’re food-insecure or you don’t feel like cooking that night, or you just want some community engagement, some social time, and meet new people, that’s what it’s all about.
“I was afforded a great childhood growing up here and a lot of great opportunities, and it just feels right to give back to that community,” he added. “My dad’s a career-long mental health professional, and he said the key to happiness is service to others. That’s something that’s always stuck with me.”
—Joseph Bednar
