Cipriano Square Gussies Up

Scaffolding lined the exterior of the eastern end of Cipriano Square Plaza on Monday.

"They're redoing the front siding,” said Jonathan Schroeder, general manager of , pointing out that on the other side of the plaza, where the bank was, they were further along and now getting signs.

Next to Bank of America, inside Weakness for Sweetness, cashier Erin Gaye, said of the new look, “It’s OK,” and her mouth turned down at the corners.

“A lot of people think we’re closed because there’s remodeling in front,” she said, adding that for every 10 customers she saw in times past, now she sees about five.

“Basically we’ve lost a lot of customers,” Gaye said, adding that she was worried some might be gone for good.

But she also felt that in the long run, the new look might bring in more customers than those lost during construction.

Gaye recalled the work starting about a month ago and said at that time, Weakness for Sweetness was notified that the remodeling would last about eight weeks. Quickly calculating, she estimated that it would only last about another month.

"If they could do it quicker, it would be cool," Schroeder said, agreeing that he too was losing customers.

He did, however, feel it would look good when it was done.

Tim Lyon, office manager for First Allied Corporation, which oversees Cipriano Square, declined to discuss the details of the project.

"We typically don't comment on anything we are doing," Lyon said.

Clarification: This story has been updated. Cipriano Square Plaza has a Greenbelt mailing address but is not located within the city limits of Greenbelt.