Uptown Charlotte Outdoor Advertising/Signage

[UptownGrrl]

Since the Bobcats were granted a variance for some of their special outdoor lighting, the planning commission has been looking at changing the restrictions across the board and allowing more outdoor advertising - both uptown and at some new 485 interchanges. What do you think?

[turbocraig]

All for it. It'd go a long way toward de-sterilizing downtown. I'd go so far as to say allow multi-story ads like they have in NYC, in addition to easing the lighting restrictions. Make it look like a place where things are actually going on.

[atlrvr]

I believe the city needs a complete overhaul of it's sign policy. The size of signage and allowable "motion" should be a function of each zoning category. The more urban intensive the zoning category, the larger the signage and more lighting features.

While I like marquees in general, I do feel that they should be restricted to certain districts in uptown and maybe midtown and south end.

But yes....in general the more rooftop billboards, neon signs, painted walls, etc. the better.

[cltheel.sdl]

I think they definitely need the Times Square look, but not in all parts of uptown. Leave the mainly residential sections of uptown ad-free but in the business, entertainment, and retail areas go all out!

[voyager12]

I completely agree with loosening restrictions. Uptown looks too much like a sterile suburban office park. Big attention grabbing signs would go a long way in adding character along with murals and art on the side of buildings.

[dubone]

UMUD zones could use a more relaxed signage requirement allowing LED ribbons and TVs, but I don't want random interstate style billboards all over uptown.

Charlotte wouldn't get the very cool outdoor ads that Times Square gets because it doesn't have nearly the same number of eyeballs viewing it.

[Miesian Corners]

I'd love to see one of the banks install a stock ticker/news tape on one of their buildings.

[swh1972]

Big scale advertisement is needed, but needs to be done thoughtfully. Areas such as EpiCentre, NHOF would be great spots to take advantage of once they are built.

A great recent example of "over the top" advertising can be seen in Cleveland, where Nike covered 75% of a building (covered the windows and everything) with a giant banner of LeBron James...with their promotional tagline "we are all witnesses". I'd love to see something similar for the Panthers covering up some of the bare spots you find on some of the buildings Uptown.

[rjp212]

I agree with atlvr. New advertising rules should be limited to only uptown and perhaps southend/midtown. The suburbs don't need the hugely lit advertisements as it will more than likely only lead to even more huge highway billboards.

[A2]

I believe the city needs a complete overhaul of it's sign policy. The size of signage and allowable "motion" should be a function of each zoning category. The more urban intensive the zoning category, the larger the signage and more lighting features.

While I like marquees in general, I do feel that they should be restricted to certain districts in uptown and maybe midtown and south end.

But yes....in general the more rooftop billboards, neon signs, painted walls, etc. the better.

YES !

This is EXACTLY what we need! You seriously need to run for mayor atlrvr.

A2

[Charlotteman]

Colorful lights and unique advertising can be real cool:)

One thing Uptown needs to avoid is the potential of using a high rise tower as a billboard in the way Jacksonville, Florida has. Almost every tower in Jax has garish signage at the roofline (except for their BofA tower, to their credit)

One look at Jax's skyline will make ya run for the hills with enormous letters cluttering skyscraper tops-----"MODIS" etc

The Grant Thornton signage on Charlotte Plaza's top is okay because it isn't so obtrusive, but hopefully no more of that particular kind of signage will occur~

When I was a teenager, there used to be an enormous HIDEOUS billboard at the Square. I think it was usually a WBT ad. That sort of thing is thankfully gone. But more unique lighting and advertising should be looked at for Uptown!

[Seabreeze]

I would love to see more colorful advertising. There is a newer coke advertisment as you come onto 277 from i-77 northbound... It really looks nice and ads color to the skyline as you approach the city. I wouldn't mind seeing more of this in the city, as long as it is done tastefully. I would really like to see an entertainment district emerge that doesn't have tight restrictions on advertising uptown. It would def. give the city some energy

[Charlotteman]

Is the large JFG sign still up?

[AuLukey]

One thing Uptown needs to avoid is the potential of using a high rise tower as a billboard in the way Jacksonville, Florida has. Almost every tower in Jax has garish signage at the roofline (except for their BofA tower, to their credit)

One look at Jax's skyline will make ya run for the hills with enormous letters cluttering skyscraper tops-----"MODIS" etc

While I agree that it should be controlled to some level, many major cities have this type of advertising and are very sucessful at making it look attractive and part of the skyline (ie North Sydney.) Didn't 400 S. Tryon or one of our "lego" buildings once have bank signage at the top? It for some reason sticks out in my head. I can't find an image with any though, so I may be wrong.

[voyager12]

A nice combination of eye catching signs in complimentary high traffic locations in diverse styles for the different districts would be a nice change. I don't see it happening though. The city council would be against anything that could be construed as not conservative. The only large signage in our future are Nascar billboards touting The Hall of Fame.

[turbocraig]

I have to agree with Aussie Luke on this one. I actually like corporate logos at the top of towers (Modis in JAX being an exception because the sign is grossly out of scale and the building itself is hideous, to me anyway). But look at LA, for example. When done right, it imparts the impression that major corporate players are part of the community and feel strongly enough about it to make their presence known. Kinda the equivalent of an ego boost.

[turbocraig]

Didn't 400 S. Tryon or one of our "lego" buildings once have bank signage at the top? It for some reason sticks out in my head. I can't find an image with any though, so I may be wrong.

Yes, it did. The old Wachovia had their logo on the side that faces the stadium. You can see it in older skyline shots taken from that angle. Dougie reported a couple of years ago that Duke was going to put their logo at the top since they took over the majority of the tower, but they've done nothing.

[reverbandwhiskey]

Wow. I cannot believe that I am the only person who doesn't want to see Uptown turn into giant billboards.

Aren't you people sick of seeing ads everywhere you go? Will seeing a 15 story Gap ad really improve the quality of your life somehow?

[turbocraig]

I don't think it's the ads themselves that anyone is clamoring for, just something to provide visual interest. Something that breaks up the monotiny of beige buildings and small white lights. Outdoor advertising just goes with living in a city, I don't really think that much about it, to be honest. If I didn't want to see ads, I'd live in a cabin in the woods.

[orulz]

One thing to note is that if the city is going to allow outdoor advertising (or certain kinds of it) they might need to loosen restrictions on retail signage as well, so shops can stand out enough against the advertisements. Does Charlotte prohibit backlit signs uptown? I think that brightly lit, colorful signs (and advertisements, even!) can add a lot of energy and atmosphere to a town. I don't think that uptown Charlotte needs to look like Times Square in NY or Ginza in Tokyo, but uptown is not a historic district so "low key" should not be the order of the day. Shops need visibility - both from the sidewalk and for people driving by on the street. If you can actually see a store one time when you're driving by, you're much more likely to stop in the next time you come by.

Maybe the city could rethink some of its regulations that were made in the name of "good taste."

[turbocraig]

I could be wrong (someone like atlrvr may be able to recite the actual regulations), but outdoor advertising is allowed, it's just the signage that's restricted. I don't know where they draw the line... maybe if it's over the door to your business, it has to be within a certain size or color scheme, but if you wanted to paste it on a billboard, then that's fine. I agree though, loosen the straps a little. Sheesh. As worthless as CityFair was, at least the bright neon contributed to the facade of vibrancy that the actual facility lacked. Now that we're actually building downtown as a destination where people really want to go, it should be allowed to look the part, and not all Emily Post tea-and-crackers.

[atlrvr]

I don't know exact regulations, but it has been getting more restrictive, not less. Marquees are now banned unless specifically allowed for by a conditional zoning provision. I believe rooftop signs are now banned, but for some reason Gerrard Tire downtown still has theirs. There are limitations that limit signage to a certain percentage of a facade with a relatively small maximum size.

[UptownGrrl]

This article sheds some light on the debate, to date.

[monsoon]

Since we are building an entertainment district downtown, I would like the sign ordinance changed so that downtown looks more like this. This is a photo that I took of the Akihabara district of Tokyo which is basically a huge shopping district. It's also known as E-town or Electric Town, not because of the signs, but because anything that is electronic can be purchased there. (sometimes years before you can get it here)

I do think the advertising adds a lot to the energy of the streetlife of the city. I've noticed however that people really don't like living amongst these kinds of signs so this might be difficult for Charlotte since there doesn't really seem to be any plan downtown as to where condos get built.

[AuLukey]

If the city entertained something on this scale, I would imagine that people would not only go to CC as a destination but would probably stick around longer. I know people that walk around their downtown just to walk around. I have met very few here. It's the same reason why people go to Concord Mills even if they are not planning on buying anything, it's an entertaining, visually stimulating place to walk around.