The Wilton Companies is a thriving real estate company based in Richmond, Virginia, where it owns, constructs, and oversees a varied portfolio of mid-Atlantic office, retail, residential, and industrial properties. This fully integrated real estate company controls the acquisition, development, ownership, management, and leasing of its multifamily and commercial real estate also manages the development of new shopping centers, retail establishments, office buildings, warehouse space, and other commercial buildings.
Founded an impressive 80 years ago, the current management team has been in place since 2002, and since that time, the company has grown significantly, boasting a mixed portfolio of retail, light industrial, office properties, and multi-family.
“We’re in an age where many real estate investment firms are specializing in one specific property type or another,” says Rich S. Johnson, Chairman, President, and CEO. “We found that our strategy works well for us to have a diversified portfolio, and that’s a format we’re committed to and think is very beneficial, particularly when there’s a lull in a certain type of property.”
He explains that during the Great Recession, for instance, warehousing vacancies skyrocketed but the company’s diversified, residential portfolio was strong, serving as insulation for Wilton against a certain degree of market risk.
“That makes us a little bit different, and we consider it to be a strength as we move forward with our operations,” says Mr. Johnson. “We’re always in a buy mode; we rarely sell a property… for the most part, we’re buyers and long-term holders.”
The Wilton Companies’ strategy is a bit unique, he adds, where a lot of investment firms hold a property for several years before flipping it. “We’re long-term holders, and that’s worked very well for us, and we’re committed to continuing that strategy,” Mr. Johnson says.
In terms of proposed developments, Canterbury Green Apartments and Armitage Apartments are two that are now in the permitting and zoning stage. “It’s going to be done in two phases,” says Vice President B. Hunt Gunter of Canterbury Green Apartments, a 180,000-square-foot, brick, five-story, mixed-use apartment complex. “We’ll have 132 units in total when it’s all said and done, and just shy of 10,000 square feet of office space.”
Offering studios, and one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, the building will also feature a number of amenities such as rooftop pickleball courts, rooftop sitting areas, barbecue areas, and a dog park on the ground level. “We’re going to have something very unique, not only for Richmond, but for Virginia and maybe the country,” adds Lindsey Johnson, Director of Human Resources, Corporate Governance and Executive Support, and Corporate Secretary.
The second project, Armitage Apartments, was originally built in 1890, an impressive historic property that is being developed with up to 160 apartments offered in sizes from studios to two bedrooms. This two-story warehouse structure situated on a 4.56-acre plot of land was originally the Armitage Manufacturing Company, later used in other manufacturing and storage operations.
The Armitage—also mixed-use with some retail space—will feature a full range of amenities that include a workout room, a pool, a coffee bar, and a dog walk area as well, adds Mr. Gunter.
“Also, because the Armitage property was built in 1890, we will be pursuing historic tax credits on that as part of that development, which is very significant,” Mr. Johnson explains. Although it’s challenging to outfit historic buildings with modern-day sustainable features, both of these apartment complexes will offer ENERGY STAR appliances as well as Low-E glass.
Aside from the pride it takes in its longevity and its numerous impressive projects, Wilton is also “extraordinarily proud” of its employee base and credits them for the company’s ongoing success. “We have a lot of long-term employees; some have been with us for decades,” says Ms. Johnson. “When we run a workforce that not only includes the office staff but everybody from landscape crews to our maintenance team and a brokerage operation—our turnover rate is extraordinarily low [across the board], and we’re quite proud of that,” she shares.
“We recently had an employee retire who came to work at The Wilton Companies when she was 18 years old, retired at 72, and never worked anyplace else,” Ms. Johnson says. “It’s unusual that people stay with one company their entire career. The Director of Maintenance worked for the company under the previous ownership, and now he oversees all of our maintenance operations, and his son now works here as well. That legacy situation is something we take pride in.”
Clearly, finding and retaining employees isn’t a challenge for Wilton, but the team does remember the difficulties faced during COVID and the impact the pandemic had not only on the company as an employer but also on its tenants.
“When everything was locked down, we took great pride in the fact that we had a plan prior to the big shutdown, and we executed the plan and saved a lot of tenants from going out of business,” says Ms. Johnson.
Wilton’s rent suspension program also worked well for tenants during the height of the pandemic, Rich Johnson adds. “It seems like things had just gotten back to normal after the Great Recession when all of a sudden the pandemic hit. Now in the current period of time with both of those largely in the rearview mirror, we’re coming into economic uncertainty with the tariffs and the political climate, domestically and internationally, in turmoil. It certainly makes it an interesting time to be in business and an interesting time to observe how we need to react and watch how others react.”
Challenges abound for sure, but so do opportunities, and The Wilton Companies, with their decades of experience through numerous uncertainties, have persevered through commitment to each other and to the surrounding community.
“We live in your neighborhoods, we shop at our tenants’ stores, and chances are our kids are in school together and play soccer and are on sports teams,” says CFO Cameron “Chip” Vaughn. “Even though Richmond has grown bigger over the years, we’re still kind of a small town, a tertiary market, and we’re not an out-of-town landlord who doesn’t care about out tenants and neighbors.”
Looking ahead, Wilton is focused on its two new apartment developments, on which the company is working with the County and the City of Richmond to navigate the permitting and zoning process. Once those elements are complete, then over the course of the following 12 to 18 months, getting those projects built and stabilized will be at the forefront for Wilton, while continuing to renovate and reimagine some of its other properties.
“We have a revolving program of upgrades where there’s always significant renovation going on, between repaving parking lots, replacing roofs, and refacing buildings,” Mr. Johnson tells us. “We’re committed to keeping our buildings attractive and modern, and therefore better investments for us and better parts of the community.”
At the moment, the team has a number of parking lots on the docket for this year, next year, and the year after, along with a recycling shop and a few shopping centers in play. “We are absolutely committed to making sure all the properties stand in very positive, strong tradition.”
Wilton employees are also committed to a number of philanthropic efforts, with many serving on community boards and the company offering internships to young men and women every summer via the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University. “We like to give back to the community that has made us successful,” says Mr. Gunter.
Wilton also strives to support nonprofits in the form of a rent discount so they can better achieve their goals, adds Mr. Johnson. “We have some very large, well-known nonprofits that we rent to, and some small ones that nobody ever would have heard of in the past, but our recognition levels are if you’re 501(c)(3), recognized by the Internal Revenue Service, you qualify.”
It all comes down to the fact that The Wilton Companies work diligently to support the entire community whenever possible, a fact that is clearly reflected in the company’s success, longevity, and employees’ desire to remain there for their entire careers.
“It signals to us that this is a good place to work, and we certainly take pride in the fact that our employees are very important to us, and they’re the reason we’ve been as successful as we’ve been,” says Rich Johnson. “We’ve got a staff that we try to take the best care of, and in turn, the staff takes care of our tenants and clients accordingly, which makes it a win-win.”
