Leaving Legacies By Scott Holter Bob Collier headed construction of the three Pacific Northwest landmarks: The Rose Garden, The Experience Music Project and the Seattle Seahawks Stadium

When Bob Collier and his wife, Joanne, moved into a brand new condominium in the Ballard neighborhood just four miles north of downtown Seattle, they chose an upper unit that faced southwest, ideal for panoramic vistas of the city and jaw-dropping sunsets over Puget Sound.

But it didn’t take long for gentrification and prosperity to move in next door.

"I knew something would eventually get built and block our views," said Collier, who moved to the high-rise in September 2001 after two years of living "Sleepless in Seattle" style aboard a boat anchored in Seattle’s Lake Union. "I just didn’t realize they would be building this quickly."

Then again Collier, a 1970 OSU graduate in civil engineering, knows a little something about building. Formerly a chief engineer and project manager for Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen’s Vulcan Northwest, Collier headed the construction of three of the Pacific Northwest’s most recognizable structures — The Rose Garden Arena in Portland, home of the Trailblazers NBA basketball team, and a pair of Seattle landmarks: Seahawks Stadium, where the city’s NFL team plays, and The Experience Music Project, a one-of-a-kind, interactive music museum.