The first attempt to simulate the height and placement of a proposed tower sign at The Lake District wasn’t a success, so a second experiment is planned for Thursday (2.27.20) on the construction site.
Yehuda Netanel, owner and developer of The Lake District (TLD), a 160-acre mixed-used development at I-40 and Canada Road in Lakeland, said the crane will be at 80-feet starting at 1 p.m. Thursday and staying all night until 10 a.m. Friday.
“The crane’s exact position will be charted by A2H and be depicted on the site plan prepared by Signs Matter to be submitted to the City,” said Mr. Netanel.
“There will be an illuminated letter (glow) with the same light output planned for the final sign. The letter will be 24 inches.”
The cornerstone of the 33-page TLD sign package submitted by Mr. Netanel to the MPC/DRC (Municipal Planning commission/Design Review Commission) is a 70-foot tower along the interstate. That proposed sign elicited the most questions and commentary from MPC/DRC members and residents present at a Feb. 5th MPC/DRC work session.
During that session, Mayor Mike Cunningham questioned the scale of submitted drawings for the tower sign. He said one particular rendering was not an accurate scale. He commented that if one drawing was inaccurate, he could not have confidence in the rest of the package. Link to story: https://lakelandcurrents.com/mpc-drc-reviews-tld-sign-package-in-work-session-wednesday/
Mr. Netanel initially disagreed but then said he would provide a balloon on a tether or ball on a crane to demonstrate the sign height in relation with surroundings. He said the marker would be in place a few days for pictures to be taken from several locations.
A TLD logo flag was hoisted atop a bucket truck Feb. 17th to simulate the tower sign. Link to story: https://lakelandcurrents.com/can-you-see-this-flag/
The experiment failed in part because the Mayor and MPC/DRC members said they weren’t notified the Monday sign simulation was in place. They asked for a redo, this time with the top of the crane lit and visible at night. The Mayor said he wanted to see where the sign is going to be, with the crane and a light on it at 70 or 80 feet.
At the Thursday (2.20.20) MPC/DRC monthly meeting, the sign plan for The Lake District (TLD) was tabled with no vote.
Phase 1 of the 160-acre lifestyle community is to open this fall, in time for holiday shopping. It will have 200,000 square-feet of retail and entertainment. Also part of Phase 1 will be 109 residential town homes.
Phase 2 will include a boutique hotel site, an office building and more retail, restaurants, entertainment, single family homes and apartments.
