Building a Living Legacy
A Century of Building Communities
The story begins in 1902 with Erik Lindquist’s arrival from Sweden at Ellis Island in New York City.
Like most immigrants, Erik left his home for the promise of a better life in America. He soon was joined by his wife, Anna, and his brothers, Joseph and Carl “Gus." Restless in their new homeland, Eric, Anna, Joseph, and Gus journeyed across the nation, eventually settling on a 40-acre farm near Oregon City in 1905. Over the next 15 years, Erik and Anna raised four boys: Fred, Hugo, Harold, and Norman. Eventually, each brother learned and practiced a construction trade – carpentry, plumbing, bricklaying, and painting.
A Family Homebuilding Tradition
At a young age, the brothers founded Lindquist Homes, setting in motion more than 100 years of family members working together to design, build, rent, and sell homes in the Portland area. Some of their earliest construction projects included multiple houses and a small apartment building in North Portland, all of which remain residences today. Throughout the 1920's and 30's, distinctively designed “Lindquist Homes” were built in Portland’s finest neighborhoods — Laurelhurst, Irvington, Ainsworth, and Eastmoreland. Each home was financed, built, and sold one at a time.
After weathering the Great Depression, in 1941, 39 years after arriving in America, Erik began construction on a new home for Anna and his boys on NE 59th and Broadway in Portland. But on December 7, 1941, while America was under attack at Pearl Harbor, Erik died of a heart attack at age 62. Sadly, he was never able to enjoy the new home he built for his family. Despite the loss, Anna made the house the hub of family life for the next 31 years before passing away in 1972 at age 92. All four boys attended Rose City Park* Elementary School and graduated from Benson High School.
In 1932, Hugo married Zoe Cate, and from 1935 to 1944, they had four children — Daryl, Stuart, Nora, and Carrie. As adults, Stuart and Nora continued the family homebuilding and real estate tradition.
A Working Mom & New Suburbs
In 1968, Nora married William “Bill” Keys in Portland. Bill was a respected attorney who served as both a district and circuit court judge in Multnomah County from 1983 until he retired in 2001. In addition to having a distinguished legal career, Judge Keys also helped establish the Police Activities League of Greater Portland. PAL was designed to bring together youth, law enforcement, and community volunteers for recreation and education activities. Bill died in 2005 at age 61.
Starting in the 1960’s and continuing through the 1980’s, Stuart Lindquist built dozens of starter homes each year in the fast-growing west side suburbs of Portland. To help sell the homes to young families, Stuart turned to his younger sister, Nora. While her husband Bill practiced law, Nora, now a mom with three young children, sold homes for Stuart. For many years, she would move their young family into the first house in each new development, purchasing homes along the way. Eventually, Nora owned more than 25 houses.
Building a Family Legacy
Sean, along with older brother Brent and younger sister Ryanne, were raised in a home built by his grandfather Hugo in the Raleigh Hills area of Southwest Portland. Sean attended Raleigh Park Elementary, Whitford Junior High and Jesuit High School. He graduated from Santa Clara University with a double major in Civil Engineering and Accounting. After college, Sean returned to Portland and joined the accounting firm of Price Waterhouse Coopers as a CPA.
As a teenager, Sean spent summers working at homebuilding sites and doing other odd jobs while developing a passion for real estate. With a loan from his parents, he purchased, renovated, and sold his first house during college. While working as a CPA after graduation, he continued to build and sell homes on evenings and weekends.
In 1994, restless to carry on the family business, Sean and his brother Brent, started Keys Homes, Inc., becoming the fourth generation of Lindquist homebuilders.
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Soon, Keys Homes was one of Oregon’s largest builders, averaging 200 single-family, multi-family, and row houses built per year. In 1999, Sean sold his company to Schuler Homes, a publicly traded construction company. Over the next few years, he grew various real estate and land acquisition businesses.
New Company, Old House
Sean began a family of his own, marrying Gretchen Campbell in 2004. Sean and Gretchen have two daughters – Campbell Grace, born in 2006, followed by Scarlett Ava in 2008. Today, the Keyses live in a historic Northwest Portland home that they, along with their neighbors, helped saved from demolition.
Gretchen and Sean reimagined and renovated the home together. The property, originally built in 1892, was designed by prominent Portland architect Edgar Lazarus, known for designing numerous Arts & Crafts houses in the Portland area and other Oregon landmarks such as the Vista House in the Columbia River Gorge, the Dome Building in Salem and the Clatsop County Courthouse in Astoria.
Today, the family real estate tradition continues with Metropolitan Land Group (MLG), a company Sean founded in 2003. The mission of MLG is to envision and create high-quality single and multi-family residential communities that embrace Oregon’s pioneering land-use system, carefully planning for growth to create livable, sustainable communities for people of all income levels.