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It keeps paying to do business in Henrico – thanks in no small part to the Enterprise Zone Program. Designated commercial and industrial areas targeted for increased investment and job growth through exclusive state and local incentives, Enterprise Zones support economic development in 66 different Virginia localities. As a top financial participant in the state Enterprise Zone program, Henrico has recently pushed its zone even further for the advancement of its business community.

Since its founding in 2003, Henrico's Enterprise Zone has ushered in nearly $17 million in Virginia Enterprise Zone grants. In September 2024, Henrico was approved to amend and enhance its zone, taking the potential for businesses to another level. The amendment expanded the zone to over 3,800 acres. It also enhanced the zone’s coverage to include an additional 194.4 acres of commercial and industrial properties while removing 166.7 acres of residential and publicly owned property.

Along with Henrico’s remarkably low tax rates and strategic market access, the Enterprise Zone has supported companies investing within its boundaries for the last 20 years with revitalization services ranging from architectural design to employment assistance and with significant financial grants. It also offers partial real estate tax exemptions, fee waivers, and accelerated plan reviews – all to go the extra mile for large corporations, micro-businesses, and everything in between.

In turn, zone participants improve aging or challenging sites, create jobs, and contribute to local and regional economic growth.

Henrico’s Enterprise Zone is a top performer in the state, receiving just under 12% of all program grant funding in Virginia. Last year, a record 18 businesses in Henrico received more than $1.7 million in grants – the biggest aggregate award in the program’s history. But Henrico’s just getting started.

Getting Down to Business
Within Henrico’s Enterprise Zone, entrepreneurs, business owners, and companies have long seen the transformative potential its grants provide. At Henrico’s Laburnum Shopping Center, co-owner Joo Lee applied for and received grants – including the Building Façade Grant and Paving and Parking Lot Sealing Grant – to elevate the customer experience.

“We’ve made countless improvements with these grants, including repaving our parking lot, improving the building façade, and adding dumpster gates behind the building,” said Lee. “The county helped us from the very beginning, and these grants truly made a difference in making these renovations possible.”

The Faison Center, a non-profit educational and treatment facility providing autism services to individuals and families, completed construction of its Pioneer Hall building in 2023. The two-story, 12,000-square-foot building houses six classrooms, an instructional kitchen, and a behavioral health clinic. By utilizing over $200,000 in combined state and local Enterprise Zone incentives, Faison invested over $5.7 million in this vibrant project located in the Willow Lawn area of Henrico.



“The Enterprise Zone program has been a key element in our ability to grow and improve our campus, and we are incredibly grateful for the county’s support,” said Ty Toepke, VP of Development at The Faison Center.

A busy veterinary clinic, River City Veterinary Hospital, received Enterprise Zone incentives to improve both the exterior and interior of a former loan office and mattress store, creating a welcoming, state-of-the-art facility to meet the needs of its expanding client base. Earning a 2023 Golden Hammer Award in Best Adaptive Reuse for Commercial Vitality, River City Veterinary Hospital’s transformation highlights the zone’s true revitalization potential.



Discover the transformation of River City Veterinary Hospital, a Henrico Enterprise Zone success story.



Henrico Gets in the Zone
Though this year’s amendment brings new opportunities to the Enterprise Zone, it’s hardly Henrico’s first step in going the extra mile for local businesses. In 2020, hundreds of zone acres were reprioritized for economic revitalization, and in 2021, Henrico launched the Henrico Investment Program, which also provides special incentives for improving properties in select areas of the county. The 2024 amendments to the Enterprise Zone build on the mission of spurring local economic growth by:

• Expanding the Enterprise Zone’s total area from 3,793 acres to 3,820.7 acres
• Focusing zone acreage on key commercial and industrial corridors by removing residential and public properties
• Increasing grant amounts by up to $20,000

From these enacted Enterprise Zone amendments, it’s clear that Henrico is focused on providing meaningful support and resources to its business community. It’s all in keeping with Henrico’s mission to go the extra mile for all Henrico businesses and their employees both today and tomorrow.

Qualifying for Enterprise Zone incentives is straightforward. Construct a new building or addition in the Enterprise Zone; add jobs to your business in the Enterprise Zone; or improve an existing building in the Enterprise Zone. For more detailed information on the Enterprise Zone and its benefits, visit henrico.gov/revit/enterprise-zone/ or call us at 804-501-7654.