JH Kelly begins work on large new corporate headquarters in Longview

Project an example of the company's continued commitment to the city of its roots

This is an architect’s rendering of JH Kelly’s new corporate headquarters, which will be located along Third Avenue in Longview .

JH Kelly, the century-old Longview firm that started as a small residential plumbing shop and has grown into a giant industrial construction company with offices and projects across the Pacific Northwest, is cementing its long-term commitment to Longview.

The company has begun work on a new, 48,000-square-foot corporate headquarters on 16-acres along Third Avenue that it acquired about a year ago, said Rob Harris, company executive vice president.

The site is directly across the street from Kelly’s existing equipment yard and offices at 821 Third Ave. The site of the new headquarters used to be a chemical plant for pool products.

The land is free of contamination, Harris said, adding that the project will not impinge on the Cowlitz River dike, which runs along the eastern edge of the property. Much of the site will remain in a natural, grassy state., Harris said.

The roof and the metal siding of the existing building there will be stripped off and the building will be expanded and be given a second floor. Harris said the building will be attractive. Judging from photos, the new building will resemble the JH Kelly building in Seattle.

The company declined to state the cost of the project, which it is building itself.

All corporate and administrative workers will be moved into the new building, Harris said. Eventually, the company office and fabrication shop on the west side of Third Avenue will be gutted of all office space and that site will be used exclusively for fabrication and equipment storage.

JH Kelly has 315 permanent staff workers companywide. About 160 of them will be located in the new corporate headquarters, and there will be room to expand.

The company employs 1,100 to 1,500 kraft union construction workers, with the number varying depending on the jobs in progress. It has labor agreements with 13 construction trade unions, Harris said.

The company is growing and simply needs more space, Harris said. “We’re bursting at the seams.”

JH Kelly is privately held by the Evans family and is run by Mason Evans, the great-grandson of the founder, Jack Kelly Sr., an emigre who started the company behind his Commerce Avenue home.

It is one of the largest industrial contractors in the western United States, with revenues in the hundreds of millions of dollars. It does a lot of work for the petroleum, paper, semiconductor and mechanical industries.

JH Kelly has built commercial high-rise projects in Portland and grain terminals on the Columbia and Willamette rivers, including TEMCO in Kalama. It modernized Weyerhaeuser Co.’s Longview paper mill in 1992 and built the ethanol plant at Port Westward, near Clatskanie, in 2006.

In 2022 the company expanded its footprint in Longview by acquiring H&N Sheet Metal, near the intersection of Baltimore Street and California Way, doubling its sheet metal workforce to over 75 and further expanding its fabrication and HVAC service capabilities in the region.

In addition to Longview, the company has shops and offices in Bellingham, Vancouver, Seattle and Milwaukie, Oregon. Much of its work is now off-site fabrication of structural, piping and electrical components.

Longview, though, will always be the company’s home, Harris said.

”We love the community and we love the people who live and work here. (Longview) is written into our DNA,” he said.

Through its many far-flung projects, JH Kelly brings millions of dollars back to the local community. A project like this is a reminder of how important it is to retain and support companies that already are here in addition to recruiting new ones.

This is a major win for the community.