Free Estimate
GenTerra Construction is led by Joel Kastel, a general contractor for thirty years in California and Oregon, with years on the city side of permitting. When you hire GenTerra, the person whose name is on the license runs your project.
Joel and his partner Andra Fletcher started with Brace Investments, buying run-down properties in the Portland area and renovating them. As the number of properties grew, the construction work needed its own company, separate from buying and managing real estate. GenTerra Construction LLC was formed in October 2025 to be that company. The renovations on our projects page come from those years.
Joel has been a general contractor for about thirty years, starting in California and now licensed in Oregon. Before GenTerra he worked for the city pushing projects through the permitting process, which is why he handles the zoning, the plan review, and the engineers on every GenTerra job himself. He is 56, he answers his own phone, and he is on the site.
Joel kept hearing the same thing from homeowners in their seventies: the house is too big and the kids are across town. A small home in a child's backyard keeps a parent close, gives them a place built for the years ahead, and stays in the family. Gresham had no builder specializing in ADUs, and Oregon's new middle-housing law had opened the door to cottage clusters. GenTerra built the first approved cluster in the city and made small homes for families its specialty.
A short conversation tells you what you can build on your property and what it costs, before you spend a dollar on design.