March 13, 2025
Eric Peterson was hard-working and kind, Bill Kent of Mortenson said of his friend of 43 years.
“Eric was as humble as they come,” said Kent, market executive in Mortenson’s Kirkland office. “He was an exceptional athlete, he accomplished amazing things professionally, and he raised two amazing kids, yet he remained grounded and always willing to help when assistance was needed.”
Peterson, of Kirkland, vice president of construction for Alliance Residential, died Feb. 9 at age 61 after a stroke. He is survived by his two children, Rose and Will; his three brothers, Greg, Matthew, and Mark; his mother, Jean; and many other family members, friends, and co-workers.
Kent first met Peterson joining the University of Washington’s Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity in 1982. Born in Mount Vernon, Peterson graduated from Stanwood High School, lending him the nickname “Stanwood” among some of his fraternity brothers to distinguish him from the other Eric Peterson in their fraternity, Kent said.
Peterson was a standout athlete at UW where he played football for the Huskies, according to college roommate and longtime friend Paul Sweeney. Peterson graduated from UW with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, and worked for companies including Mill Creek Residential Trust and W.G. Clark Construction before joining Alliance Residential in 2018.
“Eric built every type of project over his career from industrial projects to residential, but he was best known for building many mid-rise and high-rise residential projects,” said Sweeney, a principal at the Broderick Group, who also worked on land acquisitions with Peterson at Alliance in recent years.
Peterson oversaw and supervised construction operations on all of Alliance’s multifamily residential projects in metropolitan Seattle and elsewhere in Washington, the company said, interfacing with everyone from labor foremen to state and local officials and development partners as he worked with Alliance Residential’s internal construction management professionals on project delivery.
He proved himself to be a driven leader, known for his positivity, his desire to connect with others, and for being “one of the best” at planning and preparing for large, complex projects, said Jeremiah Jolicoeur, managing director of Alliance Residential.
“He rarely showed any signs of frustration and was always very encouraging to his fellow teammates,” Jolicoeur said. “He commonly used the phrase ‘Set the Table’ when planning for projects, a mantra that resulted in him never missing a budget or schedule despite overseeing very complicated projects.”
Under Peterson’s direction, Alliance Residential completed construction on 11 multifamily residential communities totaling over 2,444 units in the Pacific Northwest, Jolicoeur said. His recently completed projects include 294-unit Broadstone Strata, across from University Village, and the 155-unit, 22-story Watermark at Bellevue.
Co-workers described Peterson as entertaining, motivating, and quick with a joke and a sports analogy, according to Dawn Frivold, a project manager at Alliance Residential. He kept former UCLA coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success on the wall of his office, and followed the “coach, teach, train” approach in mentoring those he worked with, friends and colleagues said.
He was extremely principled, and generous with his time, Sweeney said.
“Everyone who knew Eric without a doubt would say he was one of the most hard-working, honest (people) they had ever met,” Sweeney said. “He was a care minister in his church, he tutored kids in a program called Kid Reach, and in general always said yes when called upon, whether it was volunteering as a parking attendant at church, or supporting a project for the homeless.”
Peterson’s greatest joy was being a father to Rose and Will, Sweeney said.
Looking back on their more than four decades of friendship, including Peterson serving as Best Man in his wedding in 1988, Kent of Mortenson said he and Peterson had experienced many highs and lows together, increasing the strength of their bond.
“Although he excelled at managing the complexities of construction, he loved the simple things in life such as fishing for perch in Lake Washington or hanging out with friends around a campfire,” Kent said. “Some of our best memories are from the annual camping trip we took with fellow fraternity brothers which always included many hours around the fire discussing Husky football, re-telling college stories, and contemplating life, the past and the future.”
A Celebration of Life for Peterson will be held at 1 p.m. on March 15 at Bellevue Presbyterian Church at 1717 Bellevue Way N.E., where Peterson was a member and volunteer. In lieu of flowers, Peterson’s family has requested that memorial contributions be sent to the Camp Firwood Scholarship Fund at http://www.thefirs.org.
Shawna Gamache can be reached by email or by phone at (206) 219-6518.
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