Schill Landscape Collective, the Cleveland-founded commercial landscaping platform backed by TruArc Partners, has acquired James Martin Associates, a Chicago-area landscape company founded in 1976, and LID Landscapes, its Boulder, Colorado affiliate, along with James Martin’s sister company Schwake Stone, which supplies stone and concrete paving products to northern Illinois contractors. The deal was reported November 10 by Landscape Management. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The asset.
James Martin Associates provides residential landscape design, installation, and maintenance, as well as commercial landscape design, enhancements, maintenance, and snow management, to Chicago’s North and Northwest suburbs. Jim Martin founded the company in 1976 and will stay involved through the integration until he retires; senior vice president and general manager Tom Bolas continues to lead operations. LID Landscapes has worked the Boulder area for more than four decades and was one of the first Boulder landscapers to install and service irrigation. It joined James Martin in 2013. Its commercial work covers maintenance, enhancements, irrigation, and snow and ice management, and it also designs, installs, and maintains residential landscapes. Vice president and general manager Scott Natter, who started at James Martin as an intern in 2007, keeps leading the Boulder team.
The platform.
Jerry Schill founded Schill Grounds Management in Cleveland in 1993 and remains CEO. TruArc Partners acquired the business from Argonne Capital Group in January 2026, and the company introduced the Schill Landscape Collective name in May. Partner companies keep their local names and run their home markets, with central support in operations, dispatch, HR, finance, marketing, and technology. The platform now operates across the Upper Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, the Rocky Mountain region, and Ontario. It ranks No. 27 on Landscape Management’s 2026 LM150 and No. 25 on Lawn & Landscape’s Top 100. Boulder becomes its western-most location.
One seller, two markets.
Because James Martin already owned LID, a single transaction gave Schill density in a market where it already competes and a new state where it had no presence. Schill said the deal deepens its service to commercial customers with numerous locations. For a platform selling to multi-site property owners, a Boulder branch is a way to cover more of a national client’s portfolio under one contract. Owners who have already built a second market, even a small one, are effectively selling a footprint, not just a book of business.
What it means.
Commercial landscaping consolidators are still paying for both fill-in density and new-market entry, and this deal delivered both at once. A founder who stays through the transition is now standard in deals of this size. For landscape owners with multiple branches or a strong commercial maintenance base, platforms like Schill, Visterra, and Yardmaster remain active buyers heading into 2027.
Own a commercial landscaping business?
Curious what a platform would pay for your markets? Schryver & Co. advises trades owners with roughly $5 million to $100 million of revenue. Reach Will at will@schryverco.com.
Talk with Will →