Downtown Phoenix neighbors contest ASU building wraps
- ASU is proposing adding building wraps downtown to highlight the university
- University officials say it will help people find their way and promote the institution
- One neighborhood group is worried about "ostentatious marketing"
Arizona State University buildings in downtown Phoenix could soon be transformed by signs more than 100 feet long highlighting the university and its achievements.
City zoning officials are considering a proposal to change ASU’s sign plan to allow adhesive building wraps at multiple sites and an electronic sign at the Arizona Center for Law and Society. Several area neighborhood groups announced their opposition before a hearing Thursday.
The wraps would cover parts of windows and walls at buildings such as the recreation center, nursing school and residence halls. The university is working with bluemedia, the company that created signs for downtown facades during the Super Bowl.
ASU proposed 10 locations for the signage but will only cover two places at a time, representatives told the city at the hearing.
“We don’t want to be in a huge, Times Square environment,” said Lindsay Kinkade, one of the speakers for the university.
Designs for the first building show a removable film reading “Learn to thrive” next to silhouettes of people in front of sunsets. University officials said the signs aim to help people find their way downtown as well as highlight ASU’s presence in the area.
But some community groups worry pedestrians will connect less with buildings when street-level windows are covered. Downtown Voices Coalition Chair Tim Eigo wrote in an opposition letter that allowing the signs could set a precedent in which “other businesses and developers may believe they too should begin displaying their own ostentatious marketing materials.”
The group requested ASU postpone the application to allow for more discussion. Kinkade said at the hearing the university is working with the community on possible adjustments to address the concerns, such as reducing the portion of street-level windows covered.
The city expects to make a zoning decision within 30 days.