MEET
THE
FOUNDERS.

Founded by Douglas Howe in the early 1980s, Touchstone initially targeted historic rehabilitation projects in the Tacoma area. Later in the decade, Douglas changed his location and his focus, moving north on I-5 to work on ground-up developments in the greater Seattle metro area.

By the mid-1990s, the company’s projects had evolved to a size and complexity that demanded the energy of more than one leader. Where Douglas held the role of visionary, full of ideas and real-estate intuition, new partner Jim O’Hanlon added balance with his analytical strengths, bringing accounting discipline and a lawyer’s diligence—along with degrees in both fields—to the business. Just a few years later, in 1998, Shawn Parry completed the triangle, joining to manage the build-out of the company’s projects with his deep construction experience. 

Today, fulfilling a succession strategy pursued by our founders since 2005, the transition of Touchstone to the URG family marks the start of another chapter full of energy, balance, and opportunity for the company and our entire team.