Piedmont Natural Gas is the latest company to repurpose a local, old building and bring it back to life. The Charlotte-based subsidiary of Duke Energy cut the ribbon last week on its new Fayetteville Plant. Piedmont consolidated its local operations and call center in a redesigned and refurbished warehouse on Corporation Drive off Tom Starling Road. Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson and County Commission Chairman Glenn Adams joined company executives in the ribbon cutting. The building is the former Maidenform Distribution Center, which closed in late 2014. Those operations were absorbed into Hanesbrands’s facilities in Forsyth and Cleveland counties. 

Piedmont Natural Gas said it renovated the 60,000-square-foot facility at a cost of $8 million. Architect Dean McKenzie said the company saved about $4 million by refurbishing the existing facility rather than building a new plant. A 9,000 square-foot utility building and storage shed are also located on the property. Officials said they also plan to relocate a compressed natural gas refueling station to the site from its existing location on Wilkes Rd. 

“Piedmont Natural Gas is proud to serve Fayetteville and Cumberland County, and our new customer contact and resource center is a tangible symbol of our commitment to and investment in the communities we serve,” said Frank Yoho, head of gas operations. Piedmont is taking advantage of the opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of its operations. The company is seeking certified LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) status for the building with best-in-class energy-conserving construction. Design elements that contribute to the project’s sustainability include maximizing open space and preserving existing wetlands on the
18-acre site. An innovative natural gas-driven heat pump is used to reduce energy use. Energy-efficient fixtures are in use to reduce water and
electricity use.

 “The company is unifying customer contact and operation associates in one facility to continue improving the service it provides to customers,” said Senior Vice President Gayle Lanier. Piedmont and its predecessor, North Carolina Natural Gas, have had a presence in Fayetteville for decades. NCNG was once located on Rowan Street adjacent to the Up & Coming Weekly building. Piedmont Natural Gas is a North Carolina- based company whose principle business is the distribution of natural gas to more than a million residential, commercial, industrial and power generation customers in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The company employs 160 associates in the Cumberland County area, most of whom now work out of the new building.