Founder of Holley Construction Group following dream, targets further growth

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Having tagged along with his father to who knows how many construction sites as a kid, Jordan Holley always knew that the building trade would be his vocation.

He reinforced that belief along the way by working for Ramsey Constructors, Inc. of Lakeville and gained not only a better skillset but additional insight into the industry.

And since Holley had seen how his father, Jeff, and Ramsey Constructors president and CEO Chris Ramsey navigated the construction world, he knew if he was going to run his own business, he, too, was going to do it the right way.

Thus, after completing his undergraduate degree in business management from Nazareth College in 2019 and founding Holley Construction Group, the Livonia native realized there was still more to learn.

“I was honest with myself, I wasn’t ready to come out of Naz and start running this business,” Holley said. “I wanted to better myself.”

He did so by enrolling in the Rinker School of Construction Management at the University of Florida. He completed his master’s degree in 2022 and then moved back to the Finger Lakes Region to grow Holley Construction Group in Avon.

So far, so good. Holley Construction has been doing buildouts for Quicklee’s, an Avon-based company rapidly expanding its convenience store footprint in the region. Holley Construction also provides subcontracting concrete work for some of the area’s larger general contractors and has become the exclusive Upstate New York distributor for Ultra Fiberglass Systems.

“We’ve made a name for ourselves with some of those large construction companies and right now we just want to continue to complete as many Quicklee’s as possible in the next year,” the 25-year-old Holley said.

The firm’s first project for Quicklee’s was the location in Lyons in November of 2022. They have since completed buildouts at Hudson and Titus Service, which is a former Mobil station in Irondequoit, and another former Mobil station at the corner of Winton Road and Atlantic Avenue in Rochester. They’re now working on the Quicklee’s on Chili Avenue in Gates.

Had he not wanted to chase his entrepreneurial dream, there’s a good chance Holley could have continued working at Ramsey Constructors. In fact, he says Chris Ramsey has had a significant influence on his career.

“He’s been a huge mentor, spending time with me and being supportive,” Holley said. “When I was working there, there was that day I had to go in and say I was leaving to start my own company, but rather than being upset, it was the complete opposite. He was just unbelievably supportive.”

Notably, the ability to become an exclusive distributor for Ultra Fiberglass Systems has provided access to different set of clients for Holley Construction Group. The company makes a fiberglass product that is used for a host of needs including catwalks, stairways, doors, handrails and shelving.

Holley Construction creates shop drawings, handles engineering and then installs the product for clients in the region. Holley said he essentially fell into the opportunity after working on other projects.

“I had worked at American Rock Salt (on a corrosion control program) and was looking at the infrastructure that’s rusting and needs upkeep — the stairs, the railings — and was thinking, ‘There’s got to be a better way’,” he said.

He found that better way when completing a fiberglass stairway project at the Livingston County Jail. That was when he realized the same product could be used as an alternative to metal in the salt mines.

Soon he was flying executives from Ultra Fiberglass Systems into Western New York and touring the American Rock Salt mine in Livingston County. What followed was the securing of rights by Holley Construction Group as the exclusive retailer in the Finger Lakes region.

While business is brisk for the firm and its five employees, Holley is eyeing growth.

“Long-term I want to start bidding on more public projects; more heavy highway projects,” he said.

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