Bennington Walmart plans major redevelopment project | State

BENNINGTON – A major renovation project is planned for the Walmart store in the Monument Plaza shopping center in Bennington on Northside Drive.

The project, estimated at $3.1 million, comes at the same time as the opening of a Harbor Freight Tools store at the Bennington Square shopping center on Kocher Drive — along with construction underway to pave the way for a planned Marshalls department store at the mall.

“The city of Bennington is clearly known as a good location for business,” said city communications coordinator Jonah Spivak when asked for comment on ongoing local development. “The many new businesses coming to town is a strong indicator that interest in our community is strong and growing.”

According to plans for the $3,187,900 interior remodel at Walmart in Bennington, the remodeled space will include 4,475 square feet of the 112,000 square foot store.

The plans were submitted to the city by New Jersey-based Neves Architecture & Design LLC on behalf of BLS Monument LLC, the mall’s owner, and received local approval last month.

Project officials were unavailable on Tuesday to provide further details on the planned changes or a timetable for the work.

According to Kim Lutchko, Vermont Act 250 district coordinator, “the consultants on the (Walmart) project recently asked our office for a determination as to whether the proposed improvements require an Act 250 permit modification. It was determined that the scope of the improvements does indeed require an Act 250 permit modification.”

She added: “This is the pre-application phase, so no application has been received by our office yet.”

Other projects

Meanwhile, renovations have been completed on a new Harbor Freight Tools store in Bennington Square Center. The store is open and will soon have a grand opening, according to employees.