New sign for Angleo’s Grove?

New sign for Angleo’s Grove?

‘ A whole new level of exposure’ could bring extra traffic to commercial district

news@theeveningtimes.com

Angelo’s Grove could soon be getting some new tower signs designed to raise the development’s profile to traffic.

Developer Kenny Farrell told the Marion Planning and Zoning Commission that they would like to take the existing tower sign down and add three new 112 foot signs with digital message boards.

The development already has an 80-foot sign which is visible from Interstate 55, but Farrell said wind has badly damaged the sign and it is in need of a complete redesign.

“This was just a heads up of an item I will be bringing them at their May meeting just to give them some time to think about it,” Farrell said. “It’s going to be a whole new level of exposure for the traffic going by.”

Farrell said they looked at just remodeling the existing tower sign, but because of the constant wind they needed to go with a new design.

“We had about $250,000 in the old design and it just got destroyed,” Farrell said. “We were going to try and rehab it, but it looked like anything we were going to try and do was going to lead back to the same problem. The wind is almost constant out there. You have acres of farm land that don’t have a lot of tree breaks and the wind in that area just created a pretty punishable wind force. So that’s why we came up with this more wind resistant design.”

Farrell said there are two issues they will need P& Z and the city’s help with before they can put up the new towers.

First, they will first need to get a variance on the height restrictions, and then they will need the city’s approval to allow off-premise advertising on the electronic message board. Current zoning ordinances restrict signs to no more than 65 feet.

P& Z approved allowing three tower signs back in 2006 and granted a variance to allow them to go up to 80 feet.

The new towers they are proposing will be 112 to 120 feet.

“We’ve got to be allowed to go up to 120 feet to have that message board,” Farrell said.

Farrell said they have already contacted the state Highway Department to make sure they are in compliance with state law height restrictions.

“We’re in compliance with all the state regulations,” Farrell said. “But now we need to be in compliance with local regulations.” The second issue — allowing off-premise advertising — may require an ordinance change.

Marion currently prohibits off-premise advertising.

“The sign is a combination of on-site businesses as well as off-premises advertising,” Farrell said. “The city has an off-premises advertising restriction. So they need to research who will need to amend that.”

Farrell said it is crucial for them to be able to sell ads on the digital billboard in order to help them build the signs.

Each tower will cost about one million dollars.

“They are a lot more expensive than our previous towers were,” Farrell said.

Mayor Frank Fogleman said P& Z acting as the Board of Adjustment can — and likely will — grant the height variance. The issue of off-site advertising, however, will require the city council to pass an ordinance to allow it.

“We see that more as a city ordinance,” Fogleman said. Fogleman said that while nobody expressed any opposition to allowing ads on the electronic billboard, Farrell hasn’t outlined yet what types of ads they would accept.

“At the moment I can’t think of any reason to oppose it,” Fogleman said. “But he did not address who the off premise advertisers would be. I would think that — and I will pick on Hampton Inn — that they would be unhappy if they saw an ad on the sign for Holiday Inn in West Memphis, for example. Or Wendy’s, Coltons, and Mi Pueblo would be unhappy with him advertising for someone who competes with them. Mr. Farrell hasn’t addressed that yet.”

Farrell said he is pleased with the design. The new towers will be both modern looking, but at the same time keep with the agricultural theme of the development.

“It’s a departure from the first,” Farrell said. “It is less historic looking from the Italianate architecture. We still wanted to tip our hat to the Italian agriculture and agriculture in general. So we selected materials that had the texture and color palate of agriculture in the region, but then chose shapes and forms that were more futuristic.”

Farrell said he is also offering the city a chance to have their logo on the sign as well. He worked closely with Mayor Frank Fogleman soliciting his opinion on the design.

While the city has not made a commitment as to whether they will participate, Farrell said the city would be able to have a sign on the tower at a significant discount.

The top of the sign would feature Marion’s logo which features the four means of transportation — rail, highway, air, and water.

“For a long time we watched the city explore opportunities for a sign announcing you are in Marion,” Farrell said. “We saw an opportunity to have that for them when we redesigned the signs. We had a number of meetings with the mayor without a commitment that they would participate in this. I brought him a dozen designs over the last year and a half to get his reaction to see if they would like to participate. But if they do want to participate, we asked them what they would want. We looked at putting Welcome to Marion at the base and we looked at putting Marion at the top of the sign. I’ve always liked that logo.”

Farrell said if P& Z approved their plan, they hope to have at least one of the towers built by Christmas.

“We’ve worked hard on this,” Farrell said. “We will likely do one or two at a time. We probably won’t do all three at the same time. There is so much traffic up and down I-40 and I-55 that we just wanted something that was distinctive and strong. We think this has a really positive image that acknowledges the traditions of agriculture and the history of the region, but also aspires to the future.”

By Mark Randall