[Photo taken in April]
The battle over signs heads to Glendale, where Americana at Brand developer Rick Caruso wants to erect advertising on the sides of his mixed-used project. But in this case there are some interesting arguments both for and against the signs, reports the Glendale-News Press. Noting the ads are meant to bring in more business to their Americana tenants, Rick Lemmo, senior vice president of communications for Caruso Affiliated says: “A lot of people don’t know what’s inside there because that changes."
But that attitude hasn't gone over well with at least two city councilpersons. Councilwoman Laura Friedman says Americana created their own problem, architecturally. “In saying that, because you create uninviting buildings with big blank walls that now we put billboards on them — that may be your solution,” Friedman said. “That wouldn’t necessarily be my solution.” And Councilman Dave Weaver also calls hogwash on the idea, saying the signs are really just being used to bring in ad revenue, not to lure in customers. Other councilpersons--who are more welcoming of the idea--suggested a "sunset clause" that would grant the ads, but allow to city to review the zoning concessions after a certain amount of time. In April, the Los Angeles Times tried to nail down how the retail portion of the project was doing (sales aren't consistent, but visitor numbers are, according to the paper). Meanwhile, it's not clear from the piece if the ads would go up on the condo portion of the development, but if they do cover the residential portion, should homeowners have a say?
· Opinions mixed on giant ads [GNP]
Loading comments...