OLSEN ANDERSON

At Olsen Anderson, we’re building more than homes, we’re building a better model for urban development.

We are a vertically integrated real estate development firm based in Seattle, focused on delivering design-forward, high-performing homes in high-demand infill neighborhoods.

By managing the full process, from land acquisition through to warranty, we reduce risk, improve quality, and deliver consistency at scale.

What sets us apart:
• Design-First Ethos: Our homes balance functionality, flow, and feel.
• Local Insight: Deep knowledge of Seattle’s neighborhoods, buyers, and barriers.
• Proven Platform: A repeatable, high-integrity model designed for growth.
• Investor Alignment: Transparent syndications built on trust, clarity, and performance.

We’re on a mission to deliver 2,500 thoughtfully crafted homes by 2034. Homes that support families, strengthen communities, and generate lasting value for our partners.

Because for us, it’s not just about construction.
It’s about raising the standard for how people live.

www.olsenanderson.com

Founder, Managing Partner

Forterra NW

Board Member

Tarragon

At Tarragon, I led full-cycle development for large-scale multifamily and mixed-use projects, guiding everything from early feasibility to stabilized operations across urban and suburban growth markets.

I was responsible for managing project vision, design teams, entitlements, permitting, construction oversight, and property performance. I worked across diverse product types and jurisdictions, navigating complexity while delivering strong, market-responsive outcomes.

Selected Projects:
• Dwell at Kent Station – 154 units | Kent, WA
• Edition Apartments – 134 units | Bothell, WA
• Glacier Run – 384 units (2 phases) | Puyallup, WA
• Camber Apartments – 324 units (3 phases) | Bremerton, WA
• Haven Apartments – 216 units | Port Orchard, WA
• Uplands Master Plan – 320-acre community | Puyallup, WA
• Lakeland Commons – Retail center | Auburn, WA
• Sunrise Village P1 – Retail building | Puyallup, WA
• Midtown Bonney Lake – 75-acre phased development | Bonney Lake, WA

Core Strengths Developed:
• Market-focused programming and underwriting
• Cross-disciplinary team leadership
• Navigating municipal processes and entitlements
• Ground-up vertical execution in complex environments
• Delivering scale with design quality and long-term value

This experience laid the foundation for Olsen Anderson:
A vertically integrated development platform where we now apply the same operational rigor, paired with a design-first ethos, to redefine what housing can be in Seattle’s next chapter.

Development Manager

Skanska USA

During my time with Skanska’s Special Projects Division, I gained firsthand experience managing construction execution on high-touch, technically complex commercial builds across the Seattle metro.

I supported preconstruction planning, field coordination, subcontractor interface, and cost tracking, working closely with project managers and superintendents to maintain momentum on fast-paced, detail-critical scopes.

What made this division special: the projects weren’t massive in size, but they demanded precision, care, and constant problem-solving. That’s where I learned that the smallest jobs often teach the biggest lessons.

It was my first real taste of how craft, logistics, and trust converge on a jobsite, and it planted the seed for everything I bring to Olsen Anderson today: discipline, attention to detail, and a deep respect for the builder's role in great development.

Project Engineering Intern

Psi Upsilon Theta Theta - University of Washington

As Chapter President of Psi Upsilon at UW, I led a 60+ member organization through a period of operational growth and cultural realignment, balancing tradition with structure, and social engagement with accountability.

I oversaw all aspects of chapter governance, including leadership development, risk management, financial oversight, alumni relations, and campus partnerships. I managed an executive board, resolved conflicts, and represented the chapter to national leadership and the university.

Key Contributions:
• Introduced clearer internal systems for accountability and communication
• Strengthened alumni engagement and event programming
• Fostered a culture of leadership development and peer mentorship
• Managed budget allocations, housing operations, and external partnerships

It was an early test of leadership, diplomacy, and personal responsibility, lessons I still apply every day as a founder and builder in the real estate world.

President

I'm the Founder and Managing Partner of Olsen Anderson, a Seattle-based real estate development firm focused on creating design-forward, high-quality urban homes that reflect how people truly live.

We specialize in infill residential communities, including townhomes, small-lot single-family, and middle housing types, strategically built in walkable, amenity-rich neighborhoods across the greater Seattle area. Our goal is to deliver 2,500 homes by 2034, transforming underutilized land into lasting, community-focused housing.

With deep experience in Seattle’s zoning and permitting landscape, we execute efficiently and collaboratively, balancing design excellence, execution speed, and long-term value.

We work closely with landowners, investors, and design partners who share our vision for thoughtful, future-ready development. If you're interested in building smarter, more livable neighborhoods, I’d love to connect.

www.olsenanderson.com

Aegir Olsen

We almost tied up a “perfect” Seattle townhome site last week.

Great location. Reasonable seller. Strong first impression.
On paper, it looked like a winner.

But once our acquisitions team dug in, three major issues surfaced that most landowners never hear about until it’s too late:

1. Stormwater wasn’t available at the property line.

To move forward, we would’ve needed a stormwater extension down the street, a multi–six-figure hit.
That single item can quietly make or break an infill deal.

2. An exceptional tree in the back corner constricted the buildable envelope.

We could still build... but only with compromised floor plans.
Smaller, less desirable layouts → lower back-end value.
On tight infill lots, one tree can reshape everything.

3. ADA ramp upgrades were triggered on all four corners of the street.

This one surprises a lot of people.
A seemingly small frontage improvement can force a full ADA curb ramp rebuild at every corner of the intersection, adding another significant cost layer that kills the economic viability.

When you stack all three issues together, the risk/return profile collapsed.
Walking away wasn’t just the right call, it was the only responsible call for our team, the seller, and our investors.

Our team called the seller directly, walked them through each issue, and explained exactly why we couldn’t proceed.

No games. No retrades.
Just transparency. The foundation of how we operate at Olsen Anderson.

If you have land in Seattle and want to understand what your site can really support, DM me “FEASIBILITY.”

We’ll give you the same clear, upfront analysis, even if we’re not the right buyer.

Founder @ Olsen Anderson | Simplifying the Complexity of Infill Development

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Seattle is about to make one of the most consequential housing decisions of the decade, and most people don’t even know it’s happening.

Next Tuesday (Dec 16), the Seattle City Council will vote on the updated Comprehensive Plan, including two major bills that will shape how (and whether) new housing gets built in our city for years to come.

Even if you’re not deep in land use policy, this matters. These decisions influence what types of homes get built, where growth happens, and how attainable Seattle is for future generations.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s on the table:

Council Bill 120985 --- The One Seattle Plan
This is the city’s long-range roadmap for housing, jobs, transportation, and land use.
It updates the policies and the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) that guide where new homes and density can go.

Council Bill 120993 --- Middle Housing (Phase 1)
This bill would allow more “middle housing”, like duplexes, triplexes, and small-scale multifamily, across all Neighborhood Residential zones.
It also simplifies the zoning categories so the rules are more consistent citywide.

Whether you’re a renter frustrated by homeprices, a homeowner thinking about how your neighborhood will evolve, or someone who cares about sustainability, transportation, or economic growth, these decisions touch all of us.

Why I’m sharing this
As someone who builds infill housing in Seattle, I see every day how policy decisions either unlock or restrict our ability to create more homes.

You don’t have to agree with every aspect of these bills. But awareness matters. Most of the input Council receives comes from a very narrow slice of the city, often people who are able to show up in the middle of the day to oppose change.

My goal here isn’t to push anyone into activism, but to make sure more Seattleites actually know decisions are being made.

If you’re curious, want to dig deeper, or just want to understand how this affects the city’s future, I’m happy to share more context.

Seattle’s housing future is being shaped right now, and an informed community leads to better outcomes for everyone.

What's your take?

A late Thanksgiving reflection on the founder journey, and why they call it a “partner.”

You end up spending more time with your business partner than almost anyone else in your life.

More time solving problems, dreaming up ideas, taking hits, and getting back up again.

When I look back, it’s wild to see where we started:
    • Sharing space in his parents’ basement post-college
    • Sketching our first home in SketchUp because that’s all we had
    • Building a house with our bare hands, nights, weekends, whatever it took
    • Living together for six years while we figured it all out
    •     • Hiring our first employee (terrifying and exhilarating in equal parts) and then 14 more
    • Signing our first office lease and realizing, “Okay… this is real now”
    • Building a vertically integrated development and homebuilding platform in one of the most complex housing markets in the country

We’ve almost lost deals, almost lost units to tree disputes, navigated lenders, investors, city processes, design choices, supply chain issues, covid lumber spikes, union strikes and concrete shortages, all of it. Real estate will test everything you’ve got, and then some.

What I’ve learned along the way is that the strongest growth doesn’t come from the quick wins. It comes from a concept I stole from lifting: time under tension.

When you persevere through the hard parts, slow it down and the tension builds... that’s where the real development happens.

Entrepreneurship works the same way.

And most of that development happens shoulder-to-shoulder with the person who signed up to build it with you.

So here’s a late Thanksgiving note of gratitude to my co-founder Grant Anderson, our partnership, the people, the lessons, and the long game we’re playing.

If you’re on your own founder journey: keep going.
If you’re in the trenches with a partner: appreciate them.
If you’re building something bigger than yourself: stay the course.

The compounding happens quietly… and then one day you look back and realize just how far you’ve come.

Grateful. Motivated. And just getting started.

— Aegir

Something I’ve Been Thinking About.

I’ve spent most of my career with my head down, building, reviewing, walking sites, solving problems, and keeping the focus on the work.

At some point, I realized most people only ever see the end product.
They don’t see the decisions, revisions, and lessons that get it there.

That’s on me.

I’ve avoided sharing the behind-the-scenes, not because there wasn’t anything worth saying, but because we were busy actually doing the work.

Over the next few weeks, that changes.

I’m going to walk through how I got here, how we built Olsen Anderson, and what we’ve learned building infill housing the hard way.

More soon.
— Aegir

Everything School Didn’t Teach Me, I Learned on My First Deal

At 21, while studying Construction Management at UW, I bought my first property.

It wasn’t glamorous.
Old systems. Old finishes. Old everything.

But it became my first student-housing value-add syndication.
My first real proforma.
My first time underwriting rents, running comps, evaluating risk and realizing I could take a property that was underperforming and turn it around.

And then we got to work.

I renovated the entire place with my own hands... and a lot of help from fraternity brothers.
Bathroom remodels. New finishes. Better layouts. Countless trips to Home Depot.
We even poured cast-in-place concrete countertops in the kitchens because we were 21... and who doesn't want a challenge?

It wasn’t a massive project.
But it changed everything for me.

It was the moment I realized I could:
- find deals
- underwrite them
- build a proforma that actually worked
- raise capital
- earn trust
- create value with sweat equity

and deliver an end product that people appreciated (and paid rent to live in)

It taught me the foundation of everything I do now:
- Be transparent.
- Be accountable.
- Own the outcome.
- Don't give up.
- And treat people well.

More soon.

We almost lost an entire unit on our first project because of a few trees, and it changed our company forever.

When we built our first townhome project, a group of trees on our neighbor’s property sat right on the property line. If we didn’t reach an agreement for removal (+ replacement), the project would loose a unit.

Instead of pushing, we did what we still do today:
We shared our vision for the project, the situation, why it mattered, and how it benefitted him too. No pressure. Just transparency.

He appreciated how we handled it. The honesty, the clarity, the follow-through.

And liked the project so much that he invested in every single deal we’ve done since. To this day, he’s always the first reply in the inbox:
 “I’m in.”

It got me thinking about how our investor base came together.

It wasn’t from fancy marketing or big promises.
It was one solid decision at a time.
One honest interaction at a time.
One follow-through at a time.

Small actions compound.
And in this business, I've learned that trust is earned not given.

What's been your experience?

Townhome Lesson

The 5-Step Path From Raw Dirt to Keys in Hand (Seattle Infill Version)

Most people only ever see the finished homes.

They don’t see the months of micro-decisions...
the meetings where we’re fighting to save two feet of grading…
or the late-night emails about utilities, tree protections, and frontage requirements that can completely shift a project.

So when a landowner says,
“I had no idea there was this much involved…”
I genuinely get it.

Even after building 100+ homes in Seattle, I’m still amazed by how much nuance lives inside every single parcel.
Every lot has its own story, its own constraints, its own potential.

Over time, we’ve built a Proven Process that brings clarity to all of it.
Here’s the 5-step path we live every day: from raw dirt → families moving in:

1. Disciplined Underwriting

Off-market sourcing, zoning analysis, entitlement strategy, and local partnerships guide how we evaluate high-value infill sites.
This is where most hidden risks and opportunities reveal themselves.

2. Intentional Design & City Approvals

Thoughtful, livable design paired with expert entitlement and permitting coordination.
The goal: secure timely approvals and create homes people genuinely want to live in.

3. Controlled Execution

With in-house construction, we maintain cost discipline, build quality, and predictable schedules.
No surprises. No chaos. Just consistent, accountable delivery.

4. Buyer-First Handoff

From orientations to walkthroughs to transparent communication, we make sure every buyer feels supported.
A great closing experience is part of the product.

5. Long-Term Support

Our local warranty and service team reinforces trust, protects long-term value, and maintains lasting relationships with every homeowner.

You don’t need to understand every step, that’s our job.
What you do need is a partner who tells you the truth about what your land can support and has a real system to bring that vision to life.

If you’re sitting on an oversized lot or considering a Joint Venture, reach out.

I’ll walk you through what your property could support, in plain English.

Seattle just passed a big milestone: over 70% of adults now have a college degree, the highest ever recorded.

This is a major signal about where the city’s headed. A growing concentration of talent will keep pulling employers, investment, and innovation into the region.

But it also highlights a gap we see every day in development:
our housing system isn’t keeping pace with the people driving Seattle’s economy.

A highly educated, high-demand workforce needs housing that is:
 • close to jobs and transit
 • functional and modern
 • predictable to build
 • integrated into existing neighborhoods

Right now, demand keeps rising, while our systems for permitting, design, and construction struggle to keep up.

Seattle’s talent engine is accelerating.

Our housing systems need to match that speed and precision.

This is the opportunity in front of us, to build a city worthy of the people shaping its future.

Link to full article in the comments below.

We’re proud to announce that The Tilden Apartments has been named NAIOP WA's Garden Style Multifamily Development of the Year! This 216-unit community in Lacey exemplifies our commitment to creating spaces where modern living meets Northwest-inspired design. Congratulations to the entire team who brought this vision to life:

Architect: Milbrandt 
Civil Engineer: ESM Consulting Engineers
Construction: Tarragon 
Interior Design: HPA Design 
Landscape Design: Bradley Design Group 
Structural Engineer: CT Engineering 

Here’s a tour of the project by Matt Farrell, Senior Development Manager for The Tilden.

https://lnkd.in/gJYjC3vi

Open video: The Tilden_NOTS 2025 on vimeo.com

Cartwright Built

Cartwright Built designs and builds thoughtful yet compact homes within pocket communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle-based company brings to market single family and cottage-style homes in established neighborhoods, delivering a sustainable solution to the housing demand while also providing homeowners a private yet communal alternative. This approach involves a customized site and floor plan that allows for spacious living within an intimate but maximized footprint.

Founder 

MainStreet Property Group LLC

Served as the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for MainStreet Property Group as well as sister companies GenCap Construction Corp. and Insite Property Solutions.  Continued to lead development, sales and marketing efforts as General Manager of two residential projects consisting of almost 75 new construction townhomes in Downtown Bothell.  One of six Executive Team members of all three companies driving broad corporate initiatives.

SVP of Sales & Marketing, General Manager & Executive Team Member 

With nearly 20 years of experience, specializing in strategic brand development, managing the creation of the product voice and brand identity through to the retail sales and resident living experience. Launched more than 20 new apartment and for sale townhome communities, including spearheading the customer experience for more than 1,200 new residents.

Vice President of Sales and Marketing & General Manager of The Landing Townhomes LLC

Toll Brothers

Managed corporate brand and community marketing programs for top four Puget Sound area homebuilder and real estate development company until purchased by Toll Brothers. Develop strategic marketing and communications plans to meet corporate CamWest objectives as well as community sales objectives. Oversee competitive research and trend analysis to guide marketing strategy and programs. Provide market opportunities analysis to executive team. Make recommendations on brand awareness/market leadership strategies. Execute market and consumer research and “listening” exercises to determine market latent needs and desires. Plan, develop and execute impactful, integrated marketing programs, product launches and campaigns for CamWest corporate and CamWest communities.

Director of Marketing

J. Walter Thompson Worldwide

Daily interaction and management of Tier III advertising/marketing campaigns for the Northwest Ford Dealer Association that resided across six NW states emcompassing 117 Ford dealer owners. Developed advertising strategy, gained approval of 14 regional dealership board members and then launched agreed upon marketing campaign with a $21 million annual corporate media buy.

Account Supervisor

Saatchi & Saatchi

Developed marketing campaign strategy for the Portland Metro Toyota Dealer Association & Wyoming Toyota Dealer Association franchise businesses.

Senior Account Executive

At Cartwright Built, we design and build compact but thoughtful homes that stand out, foster connection and increase middle housing affordability options.  Previously, holding SVP, Executive and General Manager roles at MainStreet Property Group, GenCap Construction and Insite Property Solutions, my leadership in brand development, strategic market research, property acquisition, development and the customer experience has contributed to my development experience in launching multiple multi-family, townhome, condo and single family residences.

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Katie Cartwright

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