Putting down roots in Vancouver, WA
Originally named Fort Vancouver, the city of Vancouver, Washington was incorporated in 1857. A century later, a general contractor was incorporated in nearby Portland, Oregon as Walsh Construction Co. with the humble mission to build communities and empower people. Now in 2024, after nearly four years with an established office in the city of Vancouver, we are excited to announce that we have a found a permanent office location to call our own.
With successful office locations established in Portland, Seattle, and Tacoma, we set our sights on Vancouver and it quickly became our fourth home. Vancouver is now the state’s second-fastest growing city behind Seattle, and fourth-largest city in Washington. Clark County is also the fourth-fastest growing county with over 511,000 residents to date. The city of Vancouver has seen terrific real estate advancements recently including the waterfront revitalization, the VIC (Vancouver Innovation Center), and The Heights Redevelopment.
With the increase in popularity, comes an increased need for housing, resources, and services. This need is close to the heart of our company, and delivering these facilities is built into our mission.
Working in Vancouver
Our history working in Vancouver goes back to 1980 when Walsh completed The Pythias, a midrise retirement home that offers affordable housing. Similarly, in 1985 we built the Newport Bay Restaurant in the old Kaiser Shipyards that were initially established in 1942 to build ‘Liberty’ ships for the war effort.
The city of Vancouver holds a special place in my heart, and Walsh does too. My grandparents have found homes in Vancouver buildings Van Vista and Pythias Home, which were both built by Walsh. It’s meaningful to me to be part of a company that is so vested in the health of the communities in which it works, and I’m so grateful to now have a permanent office in a city I adore.
Janelle Cruz, Risk Coordinator, Walsh Construction Co.
Recently, we’ve completed two projects for the Vancouver Housing Authority (VHA) in the past two years: the Vancouver Business Journal Top Project-award-winning, permanent supportive housing facility for those aged 55+, Tenny Creek; and the innovative, mixed-use project, Fourth Plain Commons. In addition, Columbia Heights in Mill Plain was completed for Mercy Housing Northwest and PeaceHealth in 2022, providing six 3-story affordable apartment buildings to the community, and just prior to that we worked on Meriwether Place and Van Vista Plaza. We are also currently under construction on the Walden, a new apartment building in Washougal, and Laurel Manor, an affordable housing facility for long-time partners, VHA. We are proud of the work we’ve done here and can’t wait to continue.
Our dedication to the town
“The next logical step”, a mantra coined by Bob Forster, is the battle cry that has led Walsh Construction Co. to grow our construction services and diversify our locations as a general contractor. This mantra has been the essence by which we have expanded, guided by logic and our core purpose to build communities and empower people. This connection to our purpose makes us a stronger company and allows us to provide the best services for our clients and community partners. In 2019, after a 40+ year courtship with Clark County and the City of Vancouver, Washington, we first took the next logical step and committed to establish an office there.
This office was located in ‘Officers Row’, an area of the Fort Vancouver National Historic District. For over a century, the homes along the northern edge of Evergreen Boulevard in the Historical Reserve served as residential housing for many of the soldiers, officers and families stationed at the Vancouver outpost from 1850 until 1980. It served us well in the time we inhabited the space. The location was beautiful, accessible, and held strong significance to the city. Yet, we continued to foster the vision of putting down roots. After three years of further establishing a presence in Vancouver, we set our sights on permanence. We needed more space to grow and a location we could put our stamp on. The search began. Several buildings came close, but only one stood out.
The Esther Building
The Esther Building sits contentedly and unassumingly on the corner of Esther Street and West 12th, surrounded by mature trees gracing the building with both sunlight and dappled shade, and accented by quaint window awnings. We were smitten. We signed the papers shortly after seeing the building. Following small improvements, our Vancouver team moved in February of 2024.
With three stories and around 5,300 square feet, this new office of ours was originally built in 1929 as a home for a local family. What is now the building’s ample parking lot was originally an orchard and gardens. New life was breathed into the space in the early 1960s as the Red Lion Hotel moved in, making it their new office headquarters. Twenty years later, the YWCA of Vancouver purchased the Esther Building, and most recently, another general contractor held the space from the mid-1990s until it was our turn.
We are now the trusted tenants of this historic building and fully intend to honor it as a space where we can continue to positively impact the city’s trajectory and the people living within it.
This move leaves no question that we are rooted in Vancouver and are committed to building in this community and empowering its people.
Matt Leeding, President, Walsh Construction Co.