If you're in the right portion of Henrico County, sprucing up the façade of your business can carry some pretty significant perks.
In the county's enterprise zones — generally older commercial corridors targeted for improvement and economic growth — businesses can get cash for improving façades, adding landscaping or repaving parking lots.
The zones also allow businesses to avoid paying fees to the county when performing demolitions, submitting building plans or rehabilitating historic structures.
"We are changing the face of these corridors," said Mark Strickler, the county's director of community revitalization.
One area that's seen substantial work since the county launched the zones in 2003 is Lakeside Avenue. Building owners along the corridor said they've been able to keep buildings rented, make improvements and draw in new tenants with help from the incentives.
The county's Sandston enterprise zone — along Williamsburg Road just east of the airport — also has seen numerous projects that were supported by the grants and fee waivers.
Mark Romers, owner of Industrial Control Systems, which designs and builds products for the water and waste water industry, took advantage of the enterprise zone by putting up a building for his company's offices in the heart of Sandston. The building also houses a dental office.
"This was a $600,000 project, and we got back $33,000 in credits," Romers said.
Romers, also president of the Eastern Henrico Business Association, said the business group worked with the county to build incentives for smaller businesses. Many of the original grants or fee waivers, he said, applied only to larger firms or companies that added jobs while making improvements.
Replacing the structure where Industrial Control Systems offices are raised the property value by several hundred thousand dollars. Under an abatement plan, the company won't pay taxes on the amount of the increase for seven years, helping it defray the building costs.
Stickler said Henrico works closely with the city of Richmond, which has similar enterprise zones, to link critical gateway corridors.
"Lakeside Avenue is a gateway to the (Lewis Ginter) Botanical Garden," said David Sacks, community development manager for the county. "And the eastern Henrico corridor leads to the airport."
Last fall, the county extended another enterprise zone to include the area around Regency Square mall.
The largest enterprise-zone project in the county is The Shops at White Oak Village, a massive development off Laburnum Avenue near Interstate 64. Target, Lowe's and Martin's Food Markets are anchor tenants.
Strickler said that project generated the equivalent of 1,300 full-time jobs and millions in sales tax revenue for the county and state.
But White Oak is an unusual case. Most of the projects are far smaller in scope.
Along Lakeside Avenue and in Sandston, the actions of one small business have triggered a chain reaction up and down the block.
"What happens a lot is we work on one project, and then neighbors see the repainting or repaving," said Alfred Arzuaga, a staff member in the community revitalization department. "They start to ask around and want to do their own improvements."
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