December 19, 2025
‘A builder in every sense of the word’
By BECKY BICKNELL
Walsh Construction
As 2025 comes to a close, we at Walsh Construction are pausing to reflect on another year building affordable and senior living projects, and to celebrate the retirement of Bill Reid, president of the Washington region, who has influenced the growth and success of Walsh for the past 44 years.
Starting as a carpenter in 1979, Reid worked his way up to superintendent, and later into management, eventually stepping into the president role in 2012. Throughout his career, Reid has provided humble, steady, and thoughtful leadership, positioning Walsh to successfully deliver a variety of complex and transformative projects in the Pacific Northwest.
In Tacoma, Reid was pivotal in establishing Walsh as a partner to the Tacoma Housing Authority (THA) in meeting their goals to construct and renovate high quality affordable homes, while also providing economic benefit to local companies and individuals. He led Walsh’s efforts to redevelop the Salishan community in seven phases for the THA between 2004 and 2011, and more recently oversaw the delivery of 231 new affordable homes in the Housing Hilltop project, which opened in late 2024.
At Salishan, Reid led Walsh’s efforts to develop new partnerships in Tacoma, engaging with a variety of local community groups and subcontractors over the course of many years. By the end of the last phase, Walsh had hired nearly 200 local residents and averaged 34% minority or women-owned subcontractor participation an effort that provided meaningful economic benefits and earned the trust of THA.
As former THA Executive Director Michael Mirra shared: “In what it built, and how it built, Walsh helped THA better understand and pursue its mission: to build affordable housing that is the best in the market, and to build in a way that makes our community stronger.”
In Seattle, Reid led Walsh’s efforts to secure and implement hundreds of community-centered projects over the past four decades. Three notable efforts include Lander Hall at the University of Washington, the Thornton Place community near Northgate, and the Cedar Crossing affordable mixed-use transit-oriented development project at the 65th and Roosevelt light rail station. The successful delivery of these landmark urban projects reflects the ethos Reid has established at Walsh around diligent scheduling and estimating, commitment to safety in urban neighborhoods, and an investment in craftsmanship and quality.
Under Reid’s leadership, Walsh has steadily improved its approach to delivering wood-framed apartment buildings, with a continuous focus on quality, cost, and efficiency. While Walsh is still primarily building projects on-site, we have made strategic investments in our Quality and Building Information Modeling (BIM) teams in order to accommodate evolving building systems and rigorous coordination of building exterior details. Additionally, we are continuously exploring ways to improve the efficiency of apartment framing approaches to reduce both time and cost.
Beyond buildings and systems, Reid has exemplified Walsh’s core vision of Building Communities and Empowering People. He has supported the values of compassion and generosity for each other and the broader community. Walsh aims to be an invested partner to nonprofit clients, embracing their mission to uplift residents and improve communities. Likewise, Walsh is committed to sharing talent and resources through internal mentoring and external workforce programs, such as YouthBuild and ANEW.
Most importantly, Reid has consistently invested in maintaining industry-leading standards of safety at Walsh’s jobsites. In the words of Walsh’s General Manager Elizabeth Rinehart: “Bill’s dedication to safety has set a standard that will continue long after his retirement. He never saw safety as a rulebook or a checklist. For Bill, it was an act of respect and a way of caring for and protecting the people we value so deeply.”
Looking ahead, Reid will be succeeded by Rinehart, who will take the helm as president in 2026. She sums up Reid’s character and legacy best: “Bill has always been more than a leader. He has been a builder in every sense of the word, building projects that will stand for generations.
“He’s invested time, attention and genuine care in those around him, offering guidance, encouragement and a listening ear,” she said. “His empathy has carried teams through challenges, and his high expectations have pushed us to deliver our very best.”
Becky Bicknell is Walsh Construction’s client relationship manager.