Downtown gateway sign plans progress

A downtown group hopes to erect a landmark sign near a main entry point to the urban core.


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  • | 1:30 p.m. July 3, 2019
The DID’s favored conceptual plan extends across Main Street near its intersection with U.S. 41.
The DID’s favored conceptual plan extends across Main Street near its intersection with U.S. 41.
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The Downtown Improvement District continues to pursue a project that would construct a gateway sign welcoming visitors to downtown near the intersection of Main Street and U.S. 41.

On Tuesday, the DID board met with representatives from DSDG Architects. A city committee chose the Sarasota-based firm to undertake the project in June.

Although an official design will not be selected until after a contract is finalized, the DID spent Tuesday’s meeting discussing its preferred look for the project. DSDG submitted three concept designs: two extending across Main Street and a third extending over just the eastbound lane.

The DID board agreed it preferred the design DSDG labeled “Option 1.” Eileen Hampshire, a board member who has previously criticized the project, offered her endorsement.

“I saw it and said, ‘Wow,’” she said. “It changed my mind.”

The DID board did not formally approve a contract with DSDG and instead directed the firm to refine its scope of work agreement.

DSDG originally estimated the project could cost between $50,000 and $150,000. On Tuesday, however, the firm said the estimate needed to be refined and did not include costs associated with surveying the land.

The DID, which generates funds from a tax on property owners within its boundaries, has previously budgeted $150,000 for the project.

After the DID board finalizes a preferred design, the plans must go to the City Commission for approval before construction could begin.

 

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