Schill Landscape Collective Enters Colorado by Acquiring LID Landscapes

What happened

Schill Landscape Collective has acquired LID Landscapes, a landscaping company serving the Boulder area of Colorado, Landscape Management reported on November 10, 2026. Schill bought LID together with James Martin Associates, the Chicago landscape company LID has been part of since 2013. LID gives Schill its entry into the Colorado market and becomes its westernmost location, while James Martin extends it into northern Chicago. Together the two businesses add 130 employees and two branches, and the deal is Schill's 20th acquisition partnership.

The seller

LID Landscapes has worked in the Boulder area for more than four decades. Hidelly Kane founded it, and it was one of the first landscaping companies in Boulder to service and install irrigation systems. The company grew under Phil Loughman before Jim Martin took over its leadership when the two companies joined in 2013. Martin is the founder and president of James Martin Associates.

LID serves commercial and residential customers across the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado. Its commercial work covers landscape maintenance, enhancements, irrigation, and snow and ice management, and it also designs, installs, and maintains residential landscapes. The National Association of Landscape Professionals has recognized it as one of the country's leading environmentally friendly companies.

Scott Natter, LID's vice president and general manager, will continue to lead the Boulder operations. Natter started as an intern at James Martin Associates in 2007 and became LID's general manager when the companies joined.

James Martin Associates, the other half of the deal, was founded in Chicago in 1976 by Jim Martin, who remains involved through the integration. Tom Bolas is its senior vice president and general manager. It brings a sister company, Schwake Stone, which supplies stone and concrete paving products to contractors in northern Illinois.

The buyer

Schill Landscape Collective is the group brand of Schill Grounds Management, which Jerry Schill founded in 1993 in Cleveland, Ohio, and still leads as CEO. TruArc Partners acquired Schill from Argonne Capital Group in January 2026. Schill ranks No. 27 on Landscape Management's 2026 LM150 list.

Schill introduced the Collective name in May 2026. Under it, partner companies keep their local names and run their home markets, while the group provides central support in operations, dispatch, HR, finance, marketing, and technology. Before this deal, Schill had 34 branches. With LID and James Martin, it has 36 branches and more than 1,800 team members across the Upper Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, the Rocky Mountain region, and Ontario.

"We are excited to partner with them to enable new growth in their home markets of Chicago and Boulder — and across our network," Jerry Schill said.

What this means for landscaping owners

For an owner whose company runs a location far from its home market, this deal shows that the distant branch can be the part of a sale that gives a buyer a new state. Owners thinking through that kind of sale can read our guide on selling a landscaping business to private equity.

OffDeal is an advisory firm that helps lower-middle-market business owners sell with confidence. Reach out to learn more about our expertise with landscaping businesses in Colorado.

Own a landscaping business with $5M–$100M in revenue? We’re glad to give you an honest read on what it’s worth and who would buy it — no pitch, no pressure. Get a free valuation.

Source: Landscape Management - https://www.landscapemanagement.net/schill-landscape-collective-acquires-james-martin-associates-and-lid-landscapes