image description — Ollie's sign will be on the bright yellow painted below the roof's apex. The building had formerly housed Big Lots and, before that, a Price Rite. It had first opened in the 1950s as an Adams Super Market.

Pittsfield ZBA OKs Sign For Ollie's Discount Store

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
01:14PM / Friday, August 29, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is closer to having another bargain store to shop at.

On Wednesday, the Zoning Board of Appeals granted a sign exemption for 457 Dalton Ave., the former Big Lots. The store will now be an Ollie's Bargain Basement, a company based in Harrisburg, Pa.

The store requested an exemption from sign ordinance requirements for a 114.2 square foot wall sign on a painted yellow wall in the front of the store. It is located on the top level of the Dalton Avenue Plaza.

Up to 100 square feet of signage is allowed in the business commercial zoning district and the ZBA can grant up to 150 square feet.

"We appreciate that," Jeff Rives, owner of East West Sign Group, said on behalf of the company after the approval.

"It will help the store be successful, and I think you'll find that your constituents will really enjoy it. It's a wonderful business model."

Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2024, and Ollie's has been acquiring its former stores. Ollie's will now operate 63 former Big Lots, including the one in Pittsfield and another in Rutland, Vt. It operates about 568 stores in 31 states.

In terms of signage, Rives explained, "My client is not requesting anything more than what was there."

He described the "unique" entrance where the sign will be placed, which has a triangle overhang that blocks sunlight. The store will use yellow paint and an illuminated sign that says "Ollie’s, Good Stuff Cheap," for visibility, similar to Big Lots.

Rives said his Maryland-based company has done work for more than 250 Ollie’s stores over the last nine years.

The store is set back more than 400 feet from Dalton Avenue. ZBA members agreed that this was an appropriate request.

Tags: ZBA, discount store, signage,

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Pittsfield Council Revisiting DEI Office Rename

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:11PM / Tuesday, October 13, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The conversation about the DEI office renaming that was halted by a charter objection will resume on Tuesday.

The City Council will discuss a request from Mayor Peter Marchetti to rename the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

It proposes to rename the DEI office to the Office of Equity, Access, and Opportunity and merge the Human Rights Commission and Affirmative Action Committee into an Equity, Access and Opportunity Commission.

The Ordinance and Rules Subcommittee supported the changes in August, and in September, Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham delayed the vote with a charter objection.

Pittsfield's City Code prohibits charter states that "if a single member present objects to the taking of the vote, the vote shall be postponed until the next meeting of the city council." It also stipulates that at least four members must object if it is an emergency measure.

Cunningham also submitted a petition, which was referred to O&R under Rule 27, to replace the DEI Office and the Human Rights Commission with an equity, access, and opportunity coordinator in the Department of Community Development, with formal complaints and Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action functions assigned to Human Resources.

At the last meeting, he spent more than an hour querying the mayor and chief diversity officer about functions and effectiveness of the department, wanting more quantitative data. Cunningham proposed an ordinance that he says keeps Pittsfield's commitment to equity, access, and opportunity, "refocuses it on measurable results for our residents, and delivers it at a fraction of the current cost."

Under this petition, the equity, access, and opportunity coordinator would be a $60,000 to $80,000 per year position.

The DEI Office's fiscal year 2027 budget was about $200,000 after cuts during budget season; $106,700 for the chief diversity officer and $58,000 for the administrative assistant. The coordinator would be appointed by the director of community development and the mayor.

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