Van Zandt was founded by Brian Neville in 1998 as a residential design-build services firm. Typical projects ranged from porch and deck additions to entire-house remodels and additions.  Brian’s education and experience as an architect was key to most projects, where Brian was both designer and builder.

After obtaining a Master’s degree in real-estate development from the University of Washington in 2011, Brian opted to narrow his work to general contracting, partnering with architects to build and develop residential properties in central Seattle.  

Between 2011 and 2020, Brian developed, built, and sold 7 spec houses in Seattle, and completed 20+ residential remodels and additions.  Since 2020, Brian has focused on building new houses, additions, and remodels for homeowners.  He has been brought in by architects and helped owners to locate appropriate design services to imagine, refine, and realize their dream homes and spaces.

With the number of projects being done at any one time being limited to 2-3, Brian remains personally involved with every aspect of each project.  During pre-construction, he works with homeowners and architects to identify opportunities and challenges to work through or with them.  Construction cost estimates form the basis for the work Brian does, eventually becoming cost schedules that provide a detailed map of the building process, from scheduling to billing to completion.

But costs are just the starting point.  Brian serves as project manager and site superintendent, ensuring complete continuity in communication throughout each project.  Brian’s crew is small and highly skilled, and he has been partnering with many of the same sub-contractors for years, if not decades.  While every project Brian takes on has unique challenges, there is very little that Brian has not done in some form on previous occasions, and he brings that experience to every project to accurately define scopes, costs, and timeframes.