Joel Andersen continues family tradition at Andersen Construction

Joel Andersen has been named president of Andersen Construction, the company his grandfather started in 1950. He follows his father David Andersen, who headed the company for the last 28 years.

Andersen, 34, started working in the family business in the warehouse when he was about 10, he said, and continued being involved through high school and college. In 2008 he opened the company’s Seattle office. He moved back to Portland three years ago, when he was named vice president of business development, overseeing new markets and recent growth.

“My best skill is in trusting people and empowering them,” he said. “We hired amazing people and they run the company.”

Andersen Construction has more than 700 employees and offices in Portland, Eugene, Boise, and Seattle. Current projects include nine large-scale mixed use developments and three hospital towers in Portland, a 41-story apartment tower in downtown Seattle, four mixed-use developments in downtown Boise and a new headquarters for Northwest Community Credit Union in Eugene.

The company was hit hard during the Great Recession, Andersen said, but built itself back up by focusing on four markets: health care, higher education, high-tech and housing.

“We narrowed our palette, and that enabled us to refine our skill sets in actively pursuing those markets,” he said. “The markets have changed pretty dramatically, and housing is super-hot.”

In Portland, Andersen’s current projects include new operating and patient rooms at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center and a major renovation on the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. The company also will serve as general contractors for Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer Research Building.The company is also doing high-tech work for several universities, including the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Southern Oregon University, Western Oregon University, Boise State University and the University of Washington.

“We try to stay in balance between different market sectors,” he said. “We’ve also got a lot of housing work in assisted living, market rate apartments, affordable housing and condominiums.”

The company is doing so well that “sometimes I want to pinch myself,” Andersen said. He added that he doesn’t know if any of his three kids will want to follow him into leadership of the company.

“Everyone in this town is quick to remind me that the third generation is the one that torpedoes it. So who knows, there may be nothing left by the time my kids are old enough,” he said.

He added that he wants his kids to take part if they want to.

“But my dad and granddad never said, ‘You’re going to do this,’ so if my kids don’t want to, no problem. I’ve got a family of people (in the company) and they’re amazing.”