EDWARD H. PIETZ
Born in Canada March 9, 1921, Ed moved to Clark County with his family when he was a young child. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. After being discharged from the Coast Guard, he started a construction company and built many homes and several commercial buildings. In 1957, Ed formed a partnership with Todd McClaskey and together they founded the Red Lion/Thunderbird organization with the opening of the Thunderbird Motor Inn adjacent to Portland's Memorial Coliseum.
By the time the Red Lion/Thunderbird chain was sold in 1985, it was the nation's largest independently owned and operated lodging network, with 56 properties in 9 states. After the sale of the Red Lion/Thunderbird network, Ed formed and briefly operated Raffles Hotels and Inns. After leaving the hospitality industry, Ed began developing commercial and multifamily projects.
As the vision of potential construction projects increased for Ed, so did the positive impact on citizens of Clark county. Projects Ed built or remodeled included such notable structures as the Esther Street Professional Building and Pacific Tower. With their unique design elements and beautiful embellishments, both buildings contributed to the revitalization of downtown Vancouver. Another very visible project Ed partnered in was the development of the Mill Plain One planned unit development on east Mill Plain Blvd., where he constructed the modern, upscale Park Towers buildings.
Motivated by the needs of a growing city, Ed expanded his business by becoming involved with the development of Running Springs and Vintage Oaks condominiums. The 400 unit Highland Hills apartments was also developed through a partnership with Ed, and in 2005 he went on to complete his largest apartment community endeavor with the 565 unit, 33 acre Mission Hills Luxury apartments. Of great value to Vancouver was also Ed’s involvement in assembling land that is now the site of legacy Salmon Creek Hospital and the Salmon Creek Vancouver Clinic.
Motivated by an insatiable desire to build and inspired by his vision, Ed’s generous spirit lives on in the multitude of structures where we work, live and play here in the Northwest and beyond.