Following the successful facelift of nearby Clocktower a few years ago, it now sounds like Piedmont is about to be prettied up thanks to a new owner and a couple million dollars. Located just north of Cotner and A, Piedmont Shops has been around for a while and its age shows. The shopping center was neglected by earlier owners. As a consequence occupancy rates are low, the awnings and exterior are dated and, from what I hear, there are oodles of subtle-but-major problems lurking inside.
I spent a lot of time at Piedmont during my youth. My mom and grandma both spent a lot of time shopping at Ben Franklin back in the 1980s. That was one errand I didn't mind being dragged along on; a scoop of candy corn or one of the other bulk candy selections was a sufficient bribe to keep me happy. Even better, Gateway was frequently our next stop and that meant lunch at Bishop Buffet. I digress.
I'm very curious to see what sort of businesses Piedmont Shops can hold onto. I could see a small hardware store being successful. A couple restaurants are almost a must because of the traffic they can generate. We should have a good idea of how well it's doing a year or so from now.
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See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
There is definitely a lot of potential with Piedmont (good location, good neighborhood, Bryan in their back yard), and hopefully they can become half of what Clocktower 2.0 has been.
I would love to see Piedmont Center spruced up and I thank Steve Glenn for investing in the center. I am concerned about the possibility of using TIF funds. The newspaper article mentions a blight study to determine if the project is eligible for TIF funds. I do not associate the Piedmont neighborhood with “blight” conditions. If Piedmont qualifies as “blighted” I would be surprised. I’m going to follow what Jon Camp has to say about using TIF. The project is in his district. I wonder if he will criticize the use of TIF in his district as he criticized it in the downtown district.
@JustThinkin’ you read my mind. That’s exactly what I was going to say!
I have often thought that Piedmont and the shopping area where Leon’s is (South & Winthrop?) are both prime locations for modernization. The surrounding neighborhoods seem like they would really embrace changes. I am thrilled to see Glenn invest this way. He’s done good work in other places, I have no reason to believe this will not be the case at Piedmont.
HOWEVER
I was a tenant at Piedmont a few years ago. I would say the place needs more than a facade facelift. The bathroom was tiny, the fixtures were old. There was a back door to my space that looked like it hadn’t been cleared of debris for a decade. I replaced all the outlets and light fixtures, and tried to help the bathroom. I recarpeted my space, but the floor was really uneven after trying to rip up old carpet and tile.
Piedmont is the oldest shopping center in Lincoln. Amazingly, when we ran 1, 3, and 5 mile demographics, they weren’t a lot worse than those of SouthPointe. I would hardly call it blighted. piedmont and the neighboring gas station are probably the most blighted things.
Well the Rathbone/Leon’s area is pretty much full and rejuvenated, all in the past two years. Piedmont has tons of potential. I could see a Grapevine or Carmela’s style bar or wine place working really well.
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