The Piedmont Companies, Inc., a real estate development firm located in Lincolnton, North Carolina was founded by William L. Heafner in 1985 with an initial desire to satisfy the housing needs for Lincoln and the surrounding counties. From 1985 through the year 2000, there were 15,000 families living in a home or on a Piedmont developed home site located in twenty-three North Carolina counties as well as Horry County, SC.

During the history of the company, operations have not only included the twenty-one (21) manufactured housing dealerships, but also, real estate brokerage operations, a residential housing division, residential/commercial subdivision development , commercial real estate development, real estate appraisal services, real estate auction services, a mortgage brokerage operation, electric motor supply and repair, general retail operations and an insurance agency.

While the manufactured housing enterprise thrived and became one of the top four manufactured housing enterprises in the nation, Mr. Heafner began to diversify the corporation and his personal interests. In 1997, commercial real estate development became Mr. Heafner's main focus.

Today, Piedmont Companies derives 95% of its revenues from commercial real estate development. Since 1997, Piedmont Companies has served many clients including multiple Goodwill organizations, Walgreens, Family Dollar, Dollar General, Fastenal, Aldi, McDonalds, Firehouse Subs, Subway, Tuffy Auto, O'Reilly, Hobby Town, Lincolnton ABC Board, various hotel operators and an international client, Sigmatex, to name a few.

Our development portfolio has grown to include multiple projects for Goodwill clients in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Arizona, Alabama and Florida that range in size from 12,000 square feet to more than 160,000 square feet. These Goodwill projects include stand-alone retail and donation centers, as well as, multi-facility developments which house not only the retail/donation facility, but also administrative offices, career centers and warehouse operations making Piedmont Companies the nation's premier developer of Goodwill facilities.

We have provided additional development services to clients in Charleston, SC, Washington DC, Chesapeake, VA, Orangeburg, SC and North Port, FL which have included a subdivision for multiple hotel and restaurant operators, small strip shopping centers, commercial office condos, two-story office buildings, office/warehouse facilities and office/manufacturing facilities.