Big Beaver Plaza to be restored; new tenants on the horizon
BIG BEAVER New owners of a once-busy shopping center are restoring the hub for commercial use.
Big Beaver Plaza off Route 18 has struggled to retain retail business since the 1990s, slowly falling into disrepair as a variety of tenants closed up shop.
A new company called Beaver Strip LLC, affiliated with New Castle-based Wish Development, purchased the 30-acre site in 2019 from Salieri Group Inc for more than $1.02 million, according to Beaver County property records. Company representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Local officials and former property owners say the plaza never fully rebounded after a devastating tornado in 1985; it was rebuilt at three-quarters its original size two years after the storm.
Big Beaver Plaza reopened after the tornado, but success never returned
Jenny Wagner
BIG BEAVER Big Beaver Plaza was a bustling shopping center on May 31, 1985, when a funnel cloud swept straight through the middle of it.
Before the tornado, the plaza was home to more than a dozen businesses, including Jamesway department store, Comet Food Warehouse, a state liquor store, where two individuals died in the tornado, Gerello’s Beer Distributor, Fowler Veterinary Clinic and Zodiac Hairstylist.
Store shelves were toppled and merchandise destroyed, windows were blown out, concrete block walls crumbled and the steel roofs collapsed or were open to the sky above. The parking lot resembled a junkyard, said Beaver County Emergency Services Director Wes Hill, then-fire services coordinator.
Coming Up
MONDAY
Marion Township Supervisors, 4 p.m., check with the township office on the status of the meeting.
North Beaver Township Supervisors, 4:15 p.m., check with the township office on the status of the meeting.
Ellwood City Council, 6 p.m., meeting online. Check the borough website for the access link.
Homewood Council, 7 p.m., check with the borough office on the status of the meeting.
New Beaver Council, 7 p.m., check with the borough office on the status of the meeting.
Slippery Rock Township, 7 p.m., check with the township office on the status of the meeting.
Wampum Council, 7 p.m., check with the township office on the status of the meeting.