Owner of local Real Property Management franchise acquires commercial business from Dodson

The Dodson Cos. has spent the last few years focusing on real estate development. (BizSense file photo)

The owner of a local residential property management firm is making a leap into the commercial side of the business.

Ralph Reahard, who runs the Real Property Management-Richmond Metro franchise, along with attorney and business partner Rob Hunter recently acquired the commercial property management contracts from Duke Dodson’s Dodson Commercial. 

As part of the deal, Reahard and Hunter launched a new business, WatchPoint Commercial Real Estate, to handle the commercial properties.

The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, gives WatchPoint nearly 500 accounts totaling over 2 million square feet of commercial space throughout Central Virginia. 

Dodson Commercial operates under the umbrella of The Dodson Cos., which has now sold off all its property management operations. In 2022,  Dodson sold its residential and multi-family management divisions to a pair of out-of-town firms. Dodson in the years since has been busy with development projects in neighborhoods like Forest Hill while also running a new sports bar and card shop in Scott’s Addition. 

Ralph Reahard

Reahard said he’d dabbled in commercial management over the years but it didn’t go well. That didn’t stop him from sitting down with Dodson this summer to begin discussing a potential deal. 

“(Commercial management) is just a different beast than residential,” Reahard said. “I thought, ‘If I’m going to do this, we really need to lean in and bring on some experts in the area.’”

Through the deal, three of Dodson’s longtime commercial managers, David Barrow, David Colbert and Tyler Colbert, joined WatchPoint. The sale closed in October and WatchPoint kicked off its operations in November. 

Dodson Cos.’ COO Tim Wehner said selling the commercial management piece of the company was “a long time coming.”

“The focus that it takes to really grow it just wasn’t there, because we had shifted gears a few years ago when we got out of the residential game,” Wehner said. “So we wanted to put it with some place like WatchPoint, where they were focused on it, and they were going to be able to grow and provide good opportunities for those employees that had been working for us for a while.”

The Dodson Cos. retained the Dodson Commercial branding, which now operates primarily as a brokerage. 

Since its launch last month, WatchPoint has already secured a notable new account in Chesterfield. Reahard said they’ve reached an agreement to manage the commercial properties at The Lake, the massive mixed-use complex that’s under construction off Genito Road. 

The deal with Dodson marks the second business acquisition for Reahard this year, following his purchase of the Central Virginia franchise of cleanup firm Junk King in the summer. Reahard also invests in apartment buildings throughout town, most recently selling off one of his downtown holdings.

Dodson has also had a busy fall, as it recently struck a deal with Väsen Brewing Co. to open a taproom in one of its Forest Hill properties.