Improvements to the Big Value Plaza are in high gear now that the Town of Dartmouth has given the go-ahead for the $1.3 million renovations to the Dartmouth landmark.
The project is designed to make the plaza a more welcoming, comfortable and convenient destination for shoppers, according to owner Dartco, LLC, now in its second generation of Tatelbaum/Katz family ownership.
"Some major changes are already evident, and many more will be happening quickly now," said David Tatelbaum, owner of the Big Value Outlet Plaza anchor for 20 years. He noted that Hidden Brook Veterinary Services, for example, is up and running, the Ying Dynasty restaurant is expanding and Bay Coast Bank is building a new branch on the Plaza.
"We are hiring all local companies to perform the work," Tatelbaum said. "The bank is being built by R.P. Valois & Company, and SITEC, Inc. is doing the engineering for the entire Plaza." Both companies have a Dartmouth location.
"It is a voluntary upgrade by the owners, and for that reason it is quite unusual," said Steven Gioiosa, president of SITEC, a full-service civil and environmental engineering consulting firm with additional offices in Marshfield and Fall River. "The family is being very proactive in working to improve the shopping experience for their customers. The plaza is an important community agent and a highly visible shopping center that will soon have a host of both functional and aesthetic enhancements."
The improvements include new lighting, repaving of the parking lots, landscaping beautification, a new Plaza entrance as part of the traffic redesign and a more customer-friendly parking configuration. Work will be completed by mid-December.