A crane with a light at the top is on display at The Lake District (TLD) construction site today (2.27.20) until tomorrow morning.
Jim Atkinson, senior planner, manager at A2H, said the crane, placed early this afternoon, will remain in place overnight and be removed Friday morning. “The crane will have a light on the top that will closely match the style and intensity that would be on the permanent sign.”
Mr. Atkinson is referencing a 70-foot tower sign proposed as part of a 33-page sign package for The Lake District which met with concerns and questions from some Lakeland residents and members of the Municipal Planning Commission/Design Review Commission (MPC/DRC) in recent weeks.
TLD is a 160-acre mixed-use development at I-40 and Canada Road in Lakeland with Phase 1 scheduled to open this fall.
A TLD logo flag was hoisted atop a bucket truck Feb. 17th to simulate the tower sign. It was to allow MPC/DRC members as well as residents to attempt to view the marker from various places in the City, including Garner Lake.
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 Feb. 17th sign simulation was in place. Although the developer notified City staff, the message was not forwarded to MPC/DRC members.
Commission members 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.
This week, Mr. Atkinson provided a site plan showing the location of the sign. After discussion at the last MPC/DRC meeting (Feb. 20th), the tower sign plan has been revised as follows:
- The sign is shifted to the west to align with Lake Main Drive.
- The sign will be setback from the I-40 ROW (Right-of-Way) 138 feet, instead of 150 feet. This is to properly fit within a landscape island.
- The sign will be 70-feet in height, instead of 80 feet.
Mr. Atkinson said the crane was placed in the exact location and raised to have the highest point at 70-feet. “Surveyors marked the sign location on site to ensure consistency with the site plan.
“Plan documents are being revised based on this information in addition to addressing other comments received at the last meeting. Those revisions will be submitted to staff as part of the typical plan submittal process. We will also have pictures of the crane from various locations during the day and after dark.”
The sign plan for The Lake District (TLD) was tabled with no vote at the Feb. 20th meeting. The next scheduled meeting is March 11th.
Phase 1 of the 160-acre lifestyle community is expected 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.
… Photos by Jim Willis, Lakeland Currents
