Commercial Landscaping
- Retail stores775
- Ambulatory health care offices and clinics414
- Apartment property management firms253
- Senior living and skilled nursing132
- Commercial building owners and lessors111
Richmond has 3,508 businesses with 20 or more people on site across the categories commercial trades sell to, and it leans toward senior living and nursing and auto dealerships more than the U.S. as a whole. Here is how each trade's market looks, where the buildings are and when to call.
Ask Ava anything about selling in Richmond
Ranked by larger buildings per contractor against up to 100 markets (only markets with 10 or more contractors in a trade are ranked; n/r means not ranked). A higher rank means more buildings worth calling for every competitor working them.
| Trade | Contractors | 1-yr change | Larger buildings | Per contractor | Rank | Eligible targets | Push months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Landscaping Largest buyer group: retail stores | 475 | -8 | 1,966 | 4.1 | #34 | · | Jan–Mar |
| Fire Protection Largest buyer group: restaurants | 42 | +3 | 1,848 | 44.0 | #48 | · | Year-round |
| Commercial Roofing Largest buyer group: retail stores | 28 | -1 | 1,781 | 63.6 | #52 | 3,137 | Jan–Mar |
| Commercial Construction Largest buyer group: manufacturing companies | 226 | +5 | 868 | 3.8 | #64 | 3,137 | Year-round |
| Paving & Asphalt Largest buyer group: retail stores | 54 | +1 | 2,005 | 37.1 | #68 | · | Jan–Mar |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical Largest buyer group: medical and dental office buildings | 131 | -5 | 1,080 | 8.2 | #72 | 1,159 | Apr–May, Sep–Nov |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial Largest buyer group: ambulatory health care: physician, dental, outpatient and urgent care | 413 | +8 | 1,175 | 2.8 | #86 | 844 | Year-round |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings Largest buyer group: retail stores | 39 | -4 | 1,835 | 47.1 | #77 | · | Jan–Mar |
| Commercial Electrical Largest buyer group: retail stores | 199 | -4 | 1,481 | 7.4 | #88 | · | Year-round |
| Commercial Flooring Largest buyer group: ambulatory health care: physician, dental, outpatient and urgent care | 27 | -3 | 1,166 | 43.2 | #59 | · | Year-round |
Every trade has its own target list. Here are the five largest target industries for each program in the Richmond metro, with local location counts; each guide lists all ten and who your SDR asks for.
Locations with 20 or more employees, U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023. Property management and similar categories count every company, whatever its size.
Named, sourced projects current as of 2026-09, and the trades each one puts to work.
A three-building Google data center campus on a 300-plus acre site on Bermuda Hundred Road in Chester, Chesterfield County, part of Google's $9 billion Virginia investment.
September 2026 permits for Building 2 cover permanent power, the cold shell and mechanical work, so electrical, mechanical and fire protection crews have a long runway, with a separate $144.3 million data center permit issued at the same address range.
Richmond BizSense, 2026-09-30 →LEGO's first U.S. factory, more than 1.7 million sq ft across 13 buildings including molding, packing and a high-bay warehouse, at Meadowville Technology Park in Chesterfield County.
Steel topped out in October 2025, so the push to a 2027 finish is interior mechanical, electrical, fire protection and floors, followed by ongoing maintenance, cleaning and grounds work on a large campus.
Virginia Business, 2025-10-01 →A 2 million sq ft warehouse and distribution center for LEGO in Prince George County.
A building this size carries a large roof, sprinkler system and lighting package, plus heavy truck courts and parking that need paving now and maintenance later.
Virginia Business, 2025-10-01 →A two-story, 100,000 sq ft outpatient cardiac center with imaging, exam rooms, research space and cardiac rehab at 1505 Robin Hood Road, next to Richmond's Diamond District.
Imaging suites with two MRIs and a CT scanner drive specialized electrical and HVAC work, and the 450-plus space surface lot adds paving and site landscaping before the 2028 opening.
Richmond BizSense, 2026-04-30 →A 12-story, 253-room dual-brand Marriott hotel with a 10,000 sq ft ballroom, rooftop bar and 253-space parking deck at 921 Myers St. near Scott's Addition in Richmond.
Thomas Builders is the general contractor on a two-year build, so subcontract packages for interior finishes, guestroom and ballroom flooring and painting follow the structure, and a 253-room hotel needs housekeeping support and recurring cleaning once open.
Richmond BizSense, 2026-05-19 →A 12-story, 270-room Hilton with more than 30,000 sq ft of meeting space, a 12,600 sq ft ballroom, a rooftop restaurant and a rooftop infinity pool at Midlothian Turnpike and Chippenham Parkway in Chesterfield County.
Clancy & Theys is building through at least 2027, and a rooftop restaurant and pool deck make the roof assembly a major package; ballroom, meeting room and guestroom interiors bring flooring and painting work late in the job, then ongoing cleaning for a full-service conference hotel.
Richmond BizSense, 2025-12-12 →A two-story, 340,000 sq ft high school for 2,400 students with more than 100 classrooms, two gyms, a 962-seat auditorium and a 3,500-seat stadium at 17500 Duval Road in western Chesterfield County.
With the structure topped out and an August 2027 opening, the 330,000 sq ft main building moves into roofing, interior painting and flooring for more than 100 classrooms, gyms and an auditorium, followed by a custodial and floor care contract for a school this size.
Richmond BizSense, 2026-07-27 →A 325,000 sq ft, roughly 985-bed residence hall with a 13-story tower and eight-story wing, plus dining and retail space, at 700 and 720 W. Grace St. on VCU's Monroe Park campus in Richmond.
Kjellstrom & Lee is construction manager with utility and site work underway, so roofing, interior painting and flooring packages for nearly 1,000 beds, a dining venue and retail space come up ahead of the fall 2028 move-in.
Richmond BizSense, 2026-09-14 →Health systems, campuses, large employers and industrial parks hold the biggest concentrations of commercial buildings here. Each fact links to its source, checked 2026-10.
The Greater Richmond Partnership's largest-employers list shows VCU Health with 13,500 employees.
VCU Medical Center downtown is the region's only Level I trauma center verified in burn, pediatric and adult trauma care, with hospital and clinic buildings across the downtown medical campus.
Greater Richmond Partnership →VCU reports 29,288 students enrolled.
Monroe Park and MCV campuses downtown with classrooms, labs, residence halls and parking.
Virginia Commonwealth University →RIC set an all-time annual record of 4.96 million passengers in fiscal year 2026.
Terminal, parking, airfield and a cargo operation that also set a record of 235.5 million pounds in FY26.
Richmond International Airport →Fort Lee's growth after the 2005 base realignment brought a $1.2 billion base modernization.
The Army Sustainment Center of Excellence, with training facilities, administrative areas, dining facilities and barracks.
U.S. Army Garrison Fort Lee →The Greater Richmond Partnership's largest-employers list shows Capital One with 14,000 employees, located in Goochland.
Listed for financial services and call center operations, it tops the region's largest-employers list, ahead of VCU Health.
Greater Richmond Partnership →The Greater Richmond Partnership's largest-employers list shows United Parcel Service with 2,805 employees in package distribution in Chesterfield.
Package sorting and distribution buildings with large truck yards and loading docks.
Greater Richmond Partnership →Compared with the national mix, Richmond over-indexes on senior living and nursing, auto dealerships and hospitals. The fastest-growing categories over the past year: medical, dental and outpatient offices (+122), restaurants (+17) and hosting and data processing companies (+15).
| Category | Sites with 20+ | All establishments | vs. U.S. mix | 1-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants | 941 | 2,606 | 0.96x | +17 |
| Retail stores | 775 | 4,066 | 0.98x | -47 |
| Medical, dental and outpatient offices | 414 | 2,625 | 1.13x | +122 |
| Wholesale distributors | 290 | 1,478 | 0.81x | -49 |
| Manufacturing plants | 241 | 881 | 0.81x | -43 |
| Grocery stores | 140 | 661 | 0.99x | +9 |
| Senior living and nursing | 132 | 388 | 1.28x | +13 |
| Trucking companies | 97 | 592 | 0.78x | -65 |
| Hotels | 92 | 257 | 1.11x | +12 |
| Churches and religious organizations | 78 | 976 | 0.86x | +1 |
| Auto dealerships | 67 | 234 | 1.26x | -4 |
| Bank and credit union offices | 63 | 632 | 0.94x | -4 |
| Private K-12 schools | 46 | 81 | 0.89x | -4 |
| Warehousing and distribution | 42 | 98 | 1.22x | +7 |
| Golf courses and country clubs | 29 | 41 | 0.99x | 0 |
| Hospitals | 19 | 20 | 1.25x | +4 |
| Hosting and data processing companies | 12 | 82 | 0.78x | +15 |
| Apartment and residential property managers | 12 | 253 | 0.91x | -14 |
| Commercial property managers | 9 | 76 | 1.04x | -7 |
| Colleges and universities | 6 | 14 | 0.45x | 0 |
| Nonresidential building owners | 3 | 111 | 0.78x | -4 |
Henrico County, Chesterfield County and Richmond city hold 80% of the metro's larger business sites. Most programs start in those counties and add the outer 13 counties for larger accounts, depending on how far your crews travel.
| County | Larger business sites |
|---|---|
| Henrico County | 1,062 |
| Chesterfield County | 880 |
| Richmond city | 619 |
| Hanover County | 327 |
| Colonial Heights city | 84 |
| Petersburg city | 58 |
| Prince George County | 47 |
| Powhatan County | 30 |
| Hopewell city | 24 |
| Goochland County | 19 |
| Dinwiddie County | 14 |
| New Kent County | 12 |
Outdoor trades (roofing, paving, landscaping, exterior painting) work the months with lows of 40°F or above and sell in the months before. HVAC sells ahead of its heating and cooling peaks. Each trade page has its own calendar.
Virginia requires a Board for Contractors license for work over $1,000, with Class C (under $30,000 per contract), Class B ($30,000 to under $150,000), and Class A ($150,000 or more, or $1 million or more in 12 months). Each license carries classifications or specialties that define the type of work allowed.
Trade-by-trade rules are on each trade page. Confirm with Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), Board for Contractors. Checked 2026-09-30.
Before you hire a sales development rep in Richmond, price the whole job, not just the salary. Here is the local pay for sales representatives, and what a first year really costs once you add commission, payroll taxes and benefits, tools, recruiting and the manager time it takes to coach them.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services and travel (SOC 41-3091).
In-house adds $15,000 commission, 25% payroll taxes and benefits, $500/month tools, $5,000 recruiting and 4 manager hours a week at $75/hour, before ramp time or turnover. Abstrakt includes the SDR, management, tools and data.
Abstrakt's U.S.-based business development reps build a Richmond target list around your trade, service area and ideal buildings, work it by phone, email, LinkedIn and direct mail, and book meetings with the people who sign. We will not run the same program for a direct competitor in your territory.
Selling into Virginia? See the Virginia outbound calling rules: do-not-call lists, calling hours and registration, so you know what a program here has to handle.
Yes. Abstrakt runs outsourced appointment setting for commercial trades across the Richmond, VA metro: our U.S.-based business development reps call the buildings, qualify the opportunity and book meetings with the person who signs. We run one program per trade per market.
Measured by larger buildings per contractor against the 100 markets we track (where a trade has at least 10 local contractors), commercial Landscaping (#34), fire Protection (#48) and commercial Roofing (#52) rank best in Richmond.
Compared with the national mix, Richmond has more senior living and nursing (1.28x), auto dealerships (1.26x) and hospitals (1.25x). Those industries are the best-represented buyers for trades that serve them.
The metro covers 16 counties. Henrico County, Chesterfield County and Richmond city hold 80% of the larger business sites, so most programs start there.
Getting Ava ready…
AI video guide. Your voice is processed by Tavus to run this conversation; we never use your camera. Calls end after 5 minutes. Privacy