12-B-23-DT

Level I: Kennedy Sign

Approve Subject To Conditions

APPROVE Certificate 12-B-23-DT, subject to one condition: 1) applicant to provide final drawings showing sign's installation to staff for approval.

Case File

Recommendation

Staff recommends approval of Certificate 12-B-23-DT, subject to one condition: 1) applicant to provide final drawings showing sign's installation to staff for approval.

Applicant Request

Level I: Sign

- New sign for the ground-level tenant. The sign is a rectangular sign and will feature neon illumination on the text and borders. The sign is proposed for the building's transom area, centered above the primary entry, and will project out from the building. The sign is proposed to be attached to the framing above and below the existing multi-light transom windows.
- The sign has been revised to measure 9'-10" wide by 2'-5" at the largest, with the face measuring 8' by 2'-5".

Property Notes / Work to be Completed

- At the December meeting, the staff recommendation and Board action was to postpone 12-B-23-DT "to allow for additional information on the sign's placement, installation, and design; revisions should also include a reduction in size to be more proportionate to the building and storefront."
- 430 S. Gay Street is a contributing resource to the Gay Street Commercial Historic District, so the Historic Resources section of the guidelines applies.
- The sign is a three-dimensional rectangle which projects out from the building. The face of the sign, at 9'-10" wide by 2'-5" tall, is proposed at 23.75 sq. ft. (revised from the initially proposed 26.6 sq. ft). Extending the full length of the central entryway and most of the height of the transom, the sign will be large in size.
- The guidelines recommend signs above storefront windows on signboards, or off the building as a projecting sign; the proposed sign is a combination of the two, with a form and placement that is unique to historic buildings on Gay Street. The proposed sign will obscure part of the multilight transom windows, which are a character-defining feature of the historic building.
- The neon sign will be installed on a 5" deep cabinet, connected to the upper and lower trim surrounding the transom window by 3" square aluminum tubes and 6" by 6" plates. All electrical equipment and wiring associated with the neon signage will be contained within the sign cabinet. The sign contractor has clarified "the electrician will run the power to where the support tubes mount to the building to hide any wiring/ conduit."

Applicable Guidelines

Downtown Design Guidelines

- B. PRIVATE REALM
- 4. ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
- 4c. Scale first floor signs to pedestrians.
- 4d. Differentiate the architectural features of ground floors from upper floors with traditional considerations such as show-windows, transoms, friezes, and sign boards.
- C. HISTORIC RESOURCES
- 7. RECOMMENDED SIGNS
- 7a. Locate signs above storefront windows, below second-story windows on the sign board, or on the storefront windows themselves (30% is maximum coverage), or off the front of the building as a projecting sign (maximum size: 9 square feet).
- 7b. Create signs that are proportional to the building where they are located.
- 7c. Do not light signs internally.
- B. THE TRADITIONAL GRID DISTRICT
- 1. RECOMMENDED SIGNS
- 1a. Wall signs on sign boards that are above a transom or first story and mounted flush to the building façade.