Investors hope to save old Lynchburg mill from demolition
KIM RAFF/THE NEWS & ADVANCE
The Piedmont Mills building in downtown Lynchburg has largely fallen into disrepair. It was recently purchased to stave off demolition.
Two investors are attempting to pull one of Lynchburg’s oldest commercial buildings back from the brink of demolition.
Larry Cluff, of the Richmond area, and his business partner, Chris Chadick of Bethesda, Md., closed last month on the Piedmont Mills building on Jefferson Street, a building that supplied flour to troops during wars and to United Nations relief programs in World War II, and bought wheat from local farmers for decades.
The investors are moving forward with plans to stabilize the building, obtain financing and then renovate it.
“We’re doing this project no matter what,” Cluff said. “We just don’t know which financial institution we’re using.” Cluff said he wants to build residential units in the building, and perhaps some storefronts.The building’s former owners, who had not been able to find money to renovate it, said they were glad that Cluff became interested.
“The Piedmont Mill is probably the nicest historic
building, in terms of detail and character, downtown,” said Hal Craddock, one of the investors who sold the property. “It’s just a very, very important piece of architecture downtown. It really needs to be saved.”
The brick mill’s exact age is uncertain. Doug Harvey, director of the Lynchburg Museum, said research into the city’s land records show it probably was built in the 1870s, although the mill operated in other buildings for as long as 50 years before that.
Historic accounts have said that the mill’s predecessors supplied flour to the Confederate army in the Civil War.
Piedmont Mills bought the plant in 1905, according to information in The News & Advance’s archives. The company later built the tall white silos that stand uphill from the mill. Milling ceased in 1987.
In 2002, Craddock and other investors bought the mill because they heard that its owner planned to demolish it. Ironically, the previous owner had bought it in 1998 to save it from another owner who had demolition plans.
However, Craddock and his business partners were tied up with developing the Craddock-Terry Hotel and Event Center near the mill. Craddock said they never had money to start on the mill.
Earlier this year, they learned that the mill could be a hazard to the hotel if it caught fire.
“Because it was a mill, it had belts and wheels and wires and chutes running through all the floors,” Craddock said. “When you take all that stuff out, all you have is a floor full of holes that no fireman in his right mind would go through.”
Lynchburg Fire Marshal Greg Wormser said the mill is on the fire department’s “no entry” list. If it burned, firefighters would work to save nearby buildings but most likely would not enter the mill.
The owners decided they had to tear down the mill. They got a demolition expert to examine the building and give them a contract, Craddock said.
Before signing the contract, they decided to give the building another chance. A real estate agent started marketing it, and Craddock asked the Lynchburg Historical Foundation to tell its supporters about it.
“We just thought it was important for them to know that one of the most historic buildings downtown and one of the most important buildings downtown was in danger of being lost,” Craddock said. “You never know when someone of means … will say, ‘I’d like to be the guy who saves that building.’”
Cluff ended up being that person.
Cluff has worked on several historic renovation projects in the Richmond area, including the Baker Atrium Lofts. His projects have converted old mental hospitals and fire engine warehouses into living spaces.
He said that his brother, an investor in the Bluffwalk Center that includes the Craddock-Terry Hotel, told him about Piedmont Mills. “They were going to tear this building down and he suggested that I look at it,” he said. “I wasn’t really interested in it at first, but I like the area.”
He said that the mill’s architecture sold him on the structure. Those features include several dormers in the roof and silos uphill that set the mill apart from block-shaped warehouses. “Most old brick warehouses aren’t that architecturally pleasing. This one is.”
Cluff bought the mill for $200,000 in September. Last week, Cluff and an architect looked through the mill to make plans to stabilize it within 90 days. Also, Cluff and Chadwick are arranging for a loan to renovate the structure.
They also are buying the white silos uphill from the mill, which for years stored wheat to be ground into flour. Cluff envisions commercial and residential units that get views of the James River 80 feet high.
“That’s really unique, to have a really cool design that, quite frankly, most cities haven’t seen.”
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
Hello all concerning the down town lynchburg old building being bought and restored. This past weekend my wife and i stayed at the Craddack hotel the old shoe mfging plant. What a great place, recommend it to everyone and we will surely stay again in Lynchburg at this hotel. However let me say this- like many places to visit this place drew us to stay there because this building was restored and had history. The holiday INN is great but not a place I’d care to stay over the Craddack. So continue to restore the old building in down town Lynchburg. The old saying .. “Build it they will come “ means a lot to down town Lynchburg. build something new and no one cares to see another new city. Most all restored places people enjoy to visit…Look at ole town Alexandria. There are many old restore places that people visit for that reason.
I am curious- what are the taxes on these building and residents, food etc etc down town Lynchburg….
A hello to Chris from from the historian group thanks for all the information.
“Downtown is empty, unsafe, and a bad place to make a profit” Quote from Lablover
Actually if you look at the statistics there is more crime on Ward’s road. More shoplifting, and vehicles broken into and robbed. You are probably safer walking to your car in front of one of the slum-lords boarded up buildings downtown than walking to your car at the Walmart at X-mas time.
And if your are really worried about your tax dollars…
In 2004, police received 148,331 calls for service for the 551 Wal-Mart stores analyzed, averaging 269 reported police incidents per store.
For just the 551 stores sampled, there were 2,909 reported police calls for “violent or serious crimes,” including 4 homicides, 9 rapes or attempts, 23 kidnappings or attempts, 154 sex crimes, 550 robberies or attempts and 1,024 auto thefts.
Based on the number of reported police incidents for the sample, it is estimated police responded to nearly 1 million police incidents at Wal-Mart in 2004 costing taxpayers $77 million annually.
Personally I would rather my tax dollars go to help downtown than they go towards helping Liberty students cross the road in some underground tunnel (which will be a haven for crime and violent attacks, or will we foot the bill to have hand holders to help the kids get thru the tunnel safely?) to get to Wild Wings and Walmart faster.
You are right packer. It is hard to respond to someone who has an agenda and uses falsehoods to back up their arguments. I’d venture to say a person like lablover has little practical knowledge of business or the economy of our area. While my taxes are higher than those in the county, I moved my business into the city in 1995 and have kept it here due to the services (i.e. police, fire) and the convenience that my location affords my customers. Most of the business owners I know feel the same way; I have several friends who own businesses downtown and they, as well, feel great about where they are.
lablover…it ain’t about not understanding, its about you throwing out accusations and “stuff” which you cannot back up. You’ve not even attempted to back up your “stuff” posted previously.
I really think you just have an agenda and you don’t know much if anything about what is really happening in the city.
My comments aren’t worth replying too, then you reply to them??? Obviously I was wrong. Despite whole communities sprouting up outside of the City limits, one business that now decides to locate downtown definitely offsets those losses. If downtown were blocked off, it is doubtful that many would ever notice except maybe on Fridays during the summer. Revitalization has been too slow, too expensive and poorly led. If Lyh’s history is the key to competing w/other cities, we’re not winning.
Best of luck to anyone trying to make a profit by turning downtown around, just don’t do it wasting taxpayer dollars. It’s sad the lengths that some will go to defend a money-losing hotel while many argue against the City doing anything for it’s largest attraction and most valuable source of revenue, LU.
Some don’t seem to understand the concept that a business is suppose to make a profit. While the City throws money into a very unclear future for downtown, other needs in the City go unmet. With a slowing economy and little new business to pay taxes, that can’t continue. As David posted “Leggetts and M&Rs;both stayed downtown while not making a profit.“. Neither are in business today because of decisions like that. Bluffwalk according to the N&A has over $8.5 million in debt w/the City paying over $1.1 million of it’s loans. No company could ever operate like that w/out taxpayer bailouts. The City should develop a clear future for downtown before committing to any more projects. No business will be able to stay there just for the sake of “tradition” or because it’s “our special secret” or because it’s “such a pretty piece of architecture.“
lablover’s comments aren’t even worth replying to. While many don’t like the way Bluffwalk worked out, to make this a liberal vs conservative issue is pointless. Suggesting that jobs are leaving the city and heading out to the counties makes one look pretty ignorant; Trax must have missed the boat when they left Bedford Cty (http://www.wset.com/news/stories/0809/651872.html) and moved into the city, and let’s not forget B&W moving their nat’l headquarters down to Main Street. It is always wise to have your facts straight before spouting off.
I was so happy to read this article. I absolutely love the Piedmont Flour Mill Building, and it would be an incredible shame for Lynchburg to lose this lovely piece of architecture which could be such an asset to the city’s personality.
The businesses on Wards Rd., in Timberlake, and in “the counties” are nice to have around, but without its downtown, Lynchburg has no character. People don’t visit Lynchburg to go to Target or Bob Evans. They want quirky shops and restaurants in an interesting, walkable area. That area has to be downtown.
History and natural beauty are Lynchburg’s keys to competing with other cities. If Lynchburg continues to lose buildings like the Piedmont Flour Mill (fabulous architecture right on top of the James River!), what is going to be attractive about this city anymore?
Thank you to Larry Cluff and Chris Chadick for recognizing one of Lynchburg’s best charms.
Yes, thanks, David. Really appreciated your post.
For me, the rationale to buy in the county due to lower property taxes didn’t make sense. Sure, my taxes would be a little lower, but I’d spend much more money on homeowners insurance and on the commute. But if that’s your thing, so be it.
The point of the article is that some investors purchased a rickety old building and are going to invest in it. That’s great! Why are people complaining?
My family and I go downtown quite a bit - to restaurants, to the market, for festivals, to Amazement Square, etc. But you naysayers can continue to think of downtown as “empty” and “unsafe” - we’ll just keep our downtown that was written up in the Washington Post as a special secret!
David,
Thank you for your well written, informative postings. I can tell you are on top of your game! Please keep up your efforts to inform.
Advertisement