About The Rush Companies

It all started in 1987. Gordon got his start at 19 as a commercial salmon fisherman in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Using the money he earned from his work as a commercial fisherman, Gordon and Traci built their first home in Tacoma’s North End in the winter of 1985. Rush built its first for-sale speculative home in 1987, and he hired its first superintendent, Ray Wolanzyk, in 1989. Ray was and still is an integral part of the Rush Team today. 

Rush built its first commercial building in 1991 at the Wollochet Business Park in Gig Harbor. In 1992, Rush built two more office buildings. That same year, Rush bought a 28-lot subdivision, the company’s first significant residential housing community. 

In 1995, Rush won a national Custom Home Award from Builder Magazine for a Model home in a 30 home community. In 1996, Rush expanded into medical partnership buildings, which began after Rush built a custom home for a local Endodontist and went on to build the doctor’s new office building. Rush’s ability to diversify and capitalize on new markets led us to grow tremendously.

In the early 2000s, Rush Commercial built the new 80,000 sq. ft. Kinetics building in Tacoma; Rush’s largest commercial building at the time. Around this time, Rush Residential also purchased and developed approximately 150 homesites in Gig Harbor’s Canterwood Community. In 2003, Rush built Gig Harbor’s impressive Park Plaza as a speculative office building, where Rush also moved its headquarters (and 55 employees). 

In 2007, Matt Smith rejoined the company. Matt first worked for the Rush Companies in 1992 as a field technician while still in high school (Matt also spent summers as a deckhand on Gordon’s fishing boat in Alaska). When Matt returned 15 years later, Rush had over 80 employees and had expanded its commercial division significantly. Matt brought focus and energy to Rush, quickly taking on key leadership roles, and became the president in 2010. 

In 2011, The Rush Companies moved to its current home office location on Wollochet drive. Rush began moving towards the multi-family market in 2009 with the acquisition of the 270-unit Treetops homes in Silverdale. In 2010, we built our first large-scale multi-family unit, The Pacifica. We’ve been expanding ever since up and down the I-5 Corridor, all the way from North Seattle to Lacey.

To suit the changing market, in 2012 Rush Residential made the transition from custom homes to speculative and production houses. Since then, Rush Residential has continued to design and invest in communities that align with the lifestyle and housing desires of families in the Puget Sound and surrounding areas.

In 2015 Rush Commercial broke ground on their first project in Seattle. Since then, Rush Commercial has continued to expand in the Seattle market and beyond building multifamily, industrial, office, retail, and medical office buildings and created a Special Projects Division to support its clients' needs for special projects and tenant improvements. 

Rush Capital opened its Seattle office in 2018 to better serve clients building in the Seattle-Eastside area, strategically placed between downtown Seattle and downtown Bellevue. 

Rush Commercial completed its first Senior Project with Revel Lacey. The Senior living market was a natural move for Rush given its decades of experience building and managing multifamily and medical projects. This project was quickly followed by Fairwood Senior Living which was completed in 2020 and Merrill Gardens at Wright Park, completed in early winter of 2023.

The Rush Companies is awarded a Corporate Philanthropy Award: Puget Sound Business Journal's Corporate Citizenship Award for Neighborhoods and Communities.  Rush received the award for its local philanthropic efforts. As a highlight, Gordon Rush helped found Beer and Bites, the auction that raises money for the South Sound CARE Foundation. Every year Rush is the Underwriting Sponsor and donates time and money to the cause. Rush also has a committee, Rush GIves, that allocates funds and volunteers time each year to organizations in the community. 

The Rush Companies was named 2020 Washington’s Best Workplaces by the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Rush Residential was named the 2020 Company of the year by Master Builders Association and was named 2018 and 2019 Builder of the Year by the Master Builders Association. 

The Rush Companies was named 2022 Washington’s Best Workplaces by the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Additionally, The Rush Companies celebrated its 35th Anniversary!

As we grow we will continue to be honored to be a wonderful workplace anchored in the Puget Sound Region!