Carl Haglund

Carl Haglund is a lifelong resident of Seattle, Washington, and has spent most of his life advocating for and building affordable housing in the downtown area. Born in 1951, Carl spent his formative years working as a gas station attendant, fast-food cook, mill worker, and deckhand on a fishing boat. During his early 20s, he lived with several friends in an abandoned building while driving a Metro bus. He used the money he saved to buy a gillnetter and tried his hand as a commercial fisherman.

When he was not fishing, Carl started his first construction business in 1976. Carl would purchase older homes and multiplexes and have them moved to different locations around Puget Sound. Once moved, Carl would completely rehabilitate the building and make affordable living spaces for Seattle’s working-class citizens. In 1982, Carl started Columbia Modern Living where he still serves as the company’s president.

In his career, Carl has spent millions of dollars refurbishing neglected buildings, creating community-safe spaces, and developing clean, affordable safe neighborhoods where people of all backgrounds can live together. Carl founded the Carl Haglund Foundation in the hopes of furthering those goals.