Real estate woes

For Kevin Schofield, vice president of Rutland Turfcare & Pest Control in Marlborough, Mass., the problems sprouting up this season aren’t in his clients’ yards, but in the local real estate market.

“One problem that I’m coming up against is that as we’re looking to expand…there is a lack of facilities,” he says. “Nobody is selling right now because of the interest rates being so high.”

The company which provides lawn care, pest control and tree care currently serves central and eastern Massachusetts with plans of expanding.

“It is hindering our growth a little bit,” Schofield notes. “The inventory is so low already, but for lawn care you really need a specific kind of building. You have to have water access, warehouse space, office space, etc. You really have to have a mixed use building almost and those are very few and far between.

Schofield explains the company, which started in Rutland, opened an additional facility in Marlborough only a few years ago, but the business is quickly outgrowing its current space.

“We’re almost outgrowing Marlborough already and we’ve only been here three or four years. But I’ve got almost 20 technicians and it’s tough to fit that many people in the facility. We’re making do,” he says.

Schofield says ideally, the company would be opening new locations in the northern and southern portions of the state.

“I can service out of Marlborough just fine, but I’d like to have a branch about a 30-minute radius to our service area,” he says. “We’ve expanded all the way to the North Shore and up to New Hampshire. Eventually, we’ll go into New Hampshire. We’ve expanded to the south all the way to Cape Cod and from that point we’ll go into Rhode Island and Connecticut. We’re looking to expand — we’re not afraid of growth.

“The only issues I see right now is being able to expand where we want to expand to,” Schofield adds. “We’re looking every day and trying to get that footprint a little bit bigger.”