January 30, 2009

McKinstry set to expand its headquarters in Georgetown

Image courtesy LDG Architects [enlarge]

When completed this fall, 210 Hudson will have three floors of manufacturing logistic support, offices and parking.

Yesterday, McKinstry received an expedited permit to expand its Seattle headquarters with a new 120,000-square-foot building. The company expects to create 500 jobs in the next two years.

McKinstry's headquarters is in Georgetown at Third Avenue South and South Hudson Street. The new building, called 210 Hudson, will have three floors of manufacturing logistic support, offices and parking. It will be on the east side of McKinstry's manufacturing plant, and should be complete this fall.

LDG Architects is designing the building and Lydig is general contractor. Dean Allen, CEO of McKinstry, said the project will use local and recycled-content materials. The parking section will not be heated.

Mayor Greg Nickels presented the permit and approved plans to McKinstry at a press conference Thursday.

Allen said the company will be adding 100 people initially and other jobs will be created based on new projects. Jobs will be added across many sectors, from engineers to designers to skilled craftsmen. Statistically, Allen said, every new McKinstry office job creates three more jobs in its fabrication section and shop. Shop fabrication includes sheetmetal, piping and architectural metals.

The company recently received a 10-year contract worth up to $5 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy to retrofit federal buildings with energy-efficient systems. The work could include lighting upgrades, small scale wind turbines, ground source heat pumps and biomass boilers. Allen said McKinstry is hoping to grow both locally and nationally.

McKinstry, which had $330 million in volume for 2007, expects its revenues will more than double with the contract. The company now has 10 offices and 1,700 full-time employees.

Nickels said he first heard about McKinstry's plan to expand a year ago when Barack Obama visited the company during the presidential campaign. McKinstry has since been mentioned by President Obama as an example of a model green business.

McKinstry's permitting was expedited. Allen said the process shaved about a year off the timeline, but he insisted McKinstry “didn't get any special treatment.”

Nickels said the economic slowdown has reduced the volume of permits and that has shortened the processing time.

McKinstry plans to do tenant improvements in its existing space, adding an additional 50,000 square feet of office, engineering and training space. It has a master use permit for that work, and hopes to complete it by the end of this year.

McKinstry also plans a second office and logistics building, which will be built adjacent to the 210 Hudson project.

McKinstry specializes in mechanical and electrical work, including projects that it will design, build, operate and maintain.