This sign recently appeared at the site of the proposed 1755 Blake project in Lower Downtown Denver:
Yes, it’s just a simple wooden sign and its presence is certainly no guarantee that the project will ever come to fruition (although I hope it does), but I like project signs nonetheless. In fact, it’s the lack of a project identification sign at a construction site that is one of my pet peeves. If I were spending tens of millions of dollars constructing a new building, I would want people to know about it. Yet some developers simply don’t bother.
Take, for example, Hanover’s 16-story 816 Acoma tower currently under construction in the Golden Triangle. No project sign–at least none that I’ve noticed. Since 816 Acoma is a rental project, perhaps Hanover figures there’s no point in advertising their project until the building is complete and the apartment units are ready to lease. But I’ve also observed for-sale condo developments with no project sign as well. Either way, I find it difficult to understand why a developer wouldn’t post a project identification sign.
It seems to me there are two basic reasons why it always makes sense for developers to post a project sign at a construction site: their own economic interest, and a broader community interest. Even if there’s no apparent direct financial benefit to the developer from promoting a new project with a sign during construction (such as a project that’s already fully pre-leased or a build-to-suit project), there’s still the value in establishing or reinforcing company name recognition and associating the company name with a (hopefully) successful and attractive development. For a few hundred bucks, a project ID sign with the development firm’s name on it seems like quite a marketing bargain, given the sign’s exposure to potentially thousands of passersby daily for a year or longer.
Then, there’s the broader civic interest in providing information to the community as to what is being constructed at a particular site. I believe every developer owes the public a simple sign informing us of what is being constructed, what the building is going to look like, and other project details such as an estimated completion date and the developer’s contact information. Providing that type of information conveniently through an on-site project sign helps establish goodwill on the part of the developer and is part of being a good neighbor and corporate citizen. Oh yeah, it also makes it easier to research projects for DenverInfill too.
