Signs of the Times - January 2012 - (Page 71)

The Value of Signs Springdale, OH now allows EMCs By Wade Swormstedt The Tri-County Towne Center, anames since it was rather traditional shopping center, has had several first established in 1962, but its biggest change may have occurred 18 months ago, when the governing City of Springdale (15 miles north of Cincinnati) allowed it to install the first (and still only) electronic message center (EMC) in the city. The 46-ft.-tall, multitenant sign also includes 16 full-color advertising panels. The approximately 7 x 13-ft. Watchfire EMC sits beneath the tenant panels. The previous sign, left over from the 60s, stood 35 ft. tall, with a manual readerboard and two tenant panels. Clark Gilhart, the property’s executive property manager, said, after the sign was erected, a new, 55,000-sq.-ft. tenant, Hobby Lobby, signed a lease. Its corporate office told me the new store is scheduled to open late summer/early fall 2012. The 30 existing tenants include national brands, such as The UPS Store, Office Depot and AAA, buttressed by local restaurant favorites LaRosa’s Pizza, Red Squirrel and Blue Agave. The city permits an eight-second hold time, and, currently, approximately 20 messages rotate. Gilhart said store owners don’t have to pay to have an EMC message; the only stipulation is they must have a lease agreement. Public-service messages are also available. Directly across the street, running parallel, is the 150-tenant Tri-County Mall, anchored by Macy’s, Dillard’s and Sears, which the CincinnatiUSA.com website calls “Cincinnati’s most popular shopping destination.” “Our Watchfire LED sign created an immediate visual impact on our shopping center, helping us differentiate ourselves and our tenants from other businesses in the market,” said Gilhart. One tenant, whose logo appears on the directory sign, LaRosa’s Pizzeria, has also advertised spaghetti specials on the EMC on Mondays and Tuesdays. Regional general manager Eddie Meiners said the benefits of the sign were “evident immediately.” The 65-location local chain, whose founder, Donald “Buddy” LaRosa, is a local celebrity and philanthropist, has had a restaurant at that site for 40 years, but it’s located in the “L” of the building, and Meiners marvels, “Some folks didn’t even know we were here. The sign’s been hugely beneficial.” “Without the sign, we wouldn’t be nearly as successful,” said Lou Santoro, the secretary/treasurer for Charles C. Gilhart Inc., which owns the shopping center. Prior to the economic crash of late 2007, the center had roughly 85% occupancy, he said. After that, it dropped to 50%. Since the sign was erected, Woodcraft and Eyemart have joined. With Hobby Lobby having signed its lease, occupancy will be back up to 75%. The shopping center resides on a corner, so current plans are to add another pylon with an EMC to the other street, plus an additional, static-message pylon. “Unofficially, we’ve received a lot of positive comments from city officials,” Santoro said. Vince Klusty, Klusty Sign Assoc., Cincinnati, designed the sign and handled all installation. World Wide Sign Systems, (Bonduel, WI) provided all the fabrication. Klusty attended most of the hearings. In noting that animation, scrolling and fly-ins are prohibited on the sign, he said, “I think city officials are starting to understand better usage of electronic message centers.” Jeff Tulloch, Springdale’s Development Director, said the new ordinance was a “big step” for a municipality that had been “very big on restrictive ordinances.” When asked if he’d encountered opposition, he laughed quite loudly, but added that the mayor was behind him: “I had my challenges.” He noted the shopping center had lost TJ Maxx, Borders, Pier 1 and Old Navy. And when he first tried to recruit Woodcraft, their response was “We don’t want to go to that old center.” Tri-County Towne Center completly repainted the façade and added other significant renovations, and, three months later, Woodcraft signed up to move from a 7,000-sq.-ft. facility to a 20,000-sq.-ft. store. Tulloch said their corporate office saw the plans and said, “That’s where we need to go.” “The sign was a primary factor,” Tulloch continued. As for the future, the business community is excited about two new EMCs that Lamar Outdoor will be erecting next to I-275 via another ordinance slated for passage this month, he added. A stipulation states 1/6 of the ads must be for local merchants. Tulloch succinctly said, “We’re a business community. We have 4.5 million sq. ft. of retail space and $1 billion in sales. I’m an advocate for business. Reaction to the sign has been very, very positive.” ■ SIGNS OF THE TIMES / JANUARY 2012 71 http://www.CincinnatiUSA.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - January 2012

Signs of the Times - January 2012
Contents
ST Update
Technology Update
Vinyl Apps
Strictly Commercial
Lighting Techniques
The Moving Message
Technology Review
Sign Museum News
New Products
A Global Village
Crane Truck Roundtable
Remembering the Struggle
Four Major Elements of the New ADA
ADA Opportunities and Challenges
The Value of Signs
Ramsay Sign Celebrates Centennial
Industry News
Advertising Index
Editorially Speaking

Signs of the Times - January 2012

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