What Capstone Partners does

Capstone Partners is a privately held, founder-led commercial real estate investment and development firm founded in 2002, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with a second principal office in Seattle, Washington. The firm plans, finances, implements, and manages ground-up and value-add real estate projects across multifamily, office, industrial, logistics, and retail product types in the Pacific Northwest, reporting over $1.5 billion in completed projects since inception and over $2 billion in Seattle-area ground-up and value-add projects.

Its portfolio spans roughly two-dozen documented developments, including the 28-30 acre Esterra Park master-planned community in Redmond, WA (incorporating the 250,000 sf One Esterra Park Class A office leased to Microsoft, the 285-room Westin/Element/aLoft hotel, and the 634-unit Verde at Esterra Park multifamily phase); South Lake Union urban infill projects such as the 284-unit The Union multifamily and the 340,000 sf Dexter Station office (anchored by Facebook/Meta); logistics and industrial build-to-suit facilities including the 1,018,000 sf Mill Creek Logistics Center for Amazon and the 1.1M sf PDX Logistics Center; and several adaptive-reuse and urban retail projects in Portland (Leland James, Slabtown Marketplace, Custom Blocks, LL Hawkins, Burnside26, Grant Park Village II). Anchor tenant relationships include Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Westin Hotels, Collins Aerospace, Korry Electronics/Esterline, New Seasons Market, and Con-Way/Freightliner.

Capstone operates a direct, relationship-based go-to-market targeting institutional investors and corporate tenants for projects priced and structured on a deal-by-deal basis, with no publicly disclosed fee schedule; the firm is not technology-led and its competitive position is built on principal-level relationships, local entitlement expertise, and execution credibility rather than proprietary systems. The firm is led by co-founders Chris Nelson in Portland and Kirk Johnson and Mike Hubbard in Seattle, both former Trammell Crow Company leaders, supported by a small team of VPs and directors overseeing development, asset management, and capital raising.

Name

Capstone Partners

Legal name

Capstone Partners LLC

Website

https://capstone-partners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Capstone Partners is a Pacific Northwest commercial real estate development firm founded in 2002 that plans, finances, builds, and manages multifamily, office, industrial, and retail projects for institutional investors and corporate tenants across Portland and Seattle.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Development

NAICS

Nonresidential Building Construction (2362), Industrial Building Construction (23621)

SIC

Operative Builders (1531), Operators Of Nonresidential Buildings (6512)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail & Mixed-Use Commercial Construction (IMAFACAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Real Estate Development Asset Management (Project/Construction-to-Stabilization) (BPAJAMAL)

Keywords

• Commercial real estate development
• Real estate investment
• Property development
• Asset management
• Multifamily development

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Commercial Real Estate Development: Capstone plans, finances, implements and manages commercial real estate investments. Revenue is generated through development fees, asset management, and investment returns from completed projects across multifamily, office, industrial, and retail sectors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Capstone Partners plans, finances, implements, and manages commercial real estate investments for investors and organizations across the Pacific Northwest. The company develops multifamily, office, industrial, and retail projects including master-planned communities, adaptive reuse developments, build-to-suit industrial facilities, and speculative office towers primarily in the Portland and Seattle markets.

Product overview

Capstone Partners is a commercial real estate development company operating as a single, unified real estate investment and development platform rather than a modular software product. The company offers a portfolio of distinct property development projects across four main categories: (1) Urban Multifamily Developments including The Union, Grant Park Village II, Attwell Off Main, D Street Village, LL Hawkins, and Burnside26; (2) Urban Office Developments including Leland James, Dexter Station, and Custom Blocks; (3) Industrial/Logistics Facilities including PDX Logistics Center, Mill Creek Logistics Center, Collins Aerospace, and Korry Electronics; and (4) Master Planned Communities including Esterra Park and Verde at Esterra Park. The company plans, finances, implements and manages these commercial real estate investments for investors and organizations across the Pacific Northwest, with projects ranging from adaptive reuse of historic buildings to ground-up developments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Esterra Park A 28-30 acre master-planned community in Redmond, WA featuring residential, commercial, and hospitality uses, including over 2,600 apartments across six communities, Class A office space leased to Microsoft, a 285-room Westin Hotel, and a 3-acre central park.
• The Union A 284-unit podium-style apartment project located two blocks from South Lake Union in Seattle, featuring four roof decks and rooftop community space, currently 97% leased.
• Slabtown Marketplace A renovated 1950s warehouse in Portland's Slabtown district occupied by New Seasons Market, Breakside Brewery, and 8,000 sf of retail shops, part of the mixed-use Block 296 project.
• PDX Logistics Center A master-planned, three-phase, five-building industrial development in Portland's Airport Way submarket featuring 1,103,547 sf across 61.19 acres, with bulk distribution, light manufacturing, and last-mile delivery tenants.
• Leland James A newly transformed 117,000 sf headquarters building for Con-Way in Portland featuring creative office space with ground-floor retail, full seismic upgrade, and LEED Gold certification pursuit.
• Dexter Station A ten-story, 340,000 sf Class A speculative office tower in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood with floors averaging 38,000 sf, 13' floor-to-ceiling interiors, and seven roof decks.
• Mill Creek Logistics Center A 1,018,000 sf e-commerce facility in Salem, OR leased to Amazon, developed under aggressive timeline with innovative structural steel moment frames and delivered two weeks ahead of schedule.
• Verde at Esterra Park A 634-unit residential development at Redmond's Esterra Park opening in 2022, designed for families near Microsoft's campus with light rail, bus, bike trails, and pedestrian sidewalk connections.
• Collins Aerospace A 240,000 sf integrated manufacturing headquarters on Paine Field in Everett, WA for aerospace manufacturer B/E Aerospace, adjacent to Boeing's factory.
• Custom Blocks Two former industrial buildings in Portland's Central Eastside redeveloped into 72,000 sf of creative office space for tech and food & beverage tenants, featuring exposed old-growth wood beams and rooftop decks.
• Korry Electronics A 216,000 sf manufacturing headquarters for aerospace manufacturer Korry Electronics in Everett, WA featuring state-of-the-art floor, ceiling, utility, and mechanical systems with structural adaptations to double facility size.
• Grant Park Village II The second phase adding 167 market-rate apartment units to Grant Park Village in Northeast Portland, bringing total to 389 units with 47,683 sf of retail including a 34,579 sf New Seasons Market.
• Attwell Off Main A 165-unit apartment community in Tigard, OR built in 2017 featuring studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units including six two-story townhomes with proximity to major employment centers.
• D Street Village A transformation of a former grocery store and parking lots into 39,025 sf of retail and office space plus 85 apartment homes in Portland's SE Division Street neighborhood.
• LL Hawkins A six-story building with 113 studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments above 10,800 sf of retail space in Portland's Slabtown neighborhood, featuring historic brick-and-wood façade and contemporary amenities.
• Burnside26 A modern 135-unit Class-A apartment building in Portland's Laurelhurst neighborhood designed for Millennials with smart home features, rooftop lounge (Sky Room), and high-speed internet.

Quantifiable outcome

• $1.3B Esterra Park project completed in Redmond, WA
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and key.

• Cairn PacificcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-development partner with Capstone Partners on the Leland James adaptive reuse project in Portland, OR. Cairn Pacific and Capstone completely renovated the former Con-Way/Freightliner headquarters into creative office space.
• MicrosoftcoreOthersPrimary tenant at One Esterra Park, a 250,000 sf Class A high-tech office building at Esterra Park in Redmond, WA. Microsoft is a key anchor tenant for the master-planned development.
• Facebook (Meta)coreOthersMajor tenant at Dexter Station (275,000 sf) and at Esterra Park (350,000 sf Seattle headquarters in South Lake Union). Facebook engaged Frank Gehry LLP for their Seattle office design.
• AmazoncoreOthersLeased 1,018,000 sf build-to-suit e-commerce facility at Mill Creek Logistics Center in Salem, OR. Also a tenant at PDX Logistics Center for last-mile delivery operations.
• City of SalemkeyOthersProvided near-daily assistance and expedited building permits from the City of Salem to enable aggressive timeline for Mill Creek Logistics Center build-to-suit project.
• Frank Gehry LLPkeyTechnology or IntegrationEngaged by Facebook to design their Seattle headquarters build-out at Dexter Station. Known for Facebook's new world headquarters, the Guggenheim Museum, and The Experience Museum Project.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Vulcan Real Estate: Paul Allen's Seattle-based real estate arm and master developer of South Lake Union and other large mixed-use PNW projects. Directly comparable to Capstone as a regional developer of office, multifamily, and life-science product in the same geography.
• Security Properties: Seattle-based multifamily developer and owner with a deep PNW portfolio. Closely comparable to Capstone's urban multifamily product type and regional focus.
• Gerding Edlen: Portland-based developer of sustainable urban mixed-use, multifamily, and office projects. Directly comparable to Capstone's Portland urban infill and multifamily developments and competes for similar sites and tenants.
• Holland Partner Group: Pacific Northwest-headquartered multifamily developer and operator with deep presence in Seattle and Portland. Closely comparable to Capstone's urban multifamily developments such as The Union, Burnside26, and Verde at Esterra Park.
• Killian Pacific: Pacific Northwest-based developer of office, industrial, and multifamily projects in Portland and Seattle. Highly comparable regional developer with overlapping product types.
• Wright Runstad & Company: Long-standing Seattle-based commercial real estate developer and investor with Class A office, multifamily, and mixed-use projects. Highly comparable given shared Pacific Northwest focus and similar product mix to Capstone.

Broad incumbents

• Lincoln Property Company: National multifamily and commercial developer with significant Pacific Northwest activity. Comparable to Capstone in product mix, though at materially greater scale and geographic diversification.
• Skanska USA Commercial Development: National and global developer of office and mixed-use projects with Pacific Northwest presence. Comparable to Capstone's urban office product such as Dexter Station, but operates at a much larger scale.
• Trammell Crow Company: National commercial realestate developer where Capstone's principals previously built their careers. Comparable in product breadth and institutional relationships, but operates at vastly greater scale and geographic reach than Capstone.
• Goodman Real Estate: Global industrial and logistics real estate developer with U.S. operations including Seattle-area projects. Comparable to Capstone's PDX Logistics Center and Mill Creek Logistics Center industrial build-to-suit work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Capstone Partners