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Design Review Board

Level 2: Major alteration of an existing building/structure

6-F-16-DT

This case has been appealed

Staff Recommendation
APPROVE Certificate 6-F-16-DT (revision) subject to the following conditions: 1) The plaque signs located on the Gay Street elevation be non-illuminated, and 2) The wall sign on the rear (east) elevation have exterior illumination only.Case File
Location
530 S Gay St
Applicant Request
----------------------------------------- REVISIONS (9/21/2016) --------------------------------------------------------

Signage: There are three sign types proposed for the building; two plaque signs on either side of the sliding door (main entrance), projecting sign on Gay Street elevation, and wall sign on rear elevation.

Plaque signs - Two internally illuminated signs with aluminum sign faces and acrylic graphics and letters that allow light to penetrate, 21" wide by 27" tall (~4 square feet each). There will be one sign on either side of the sliding door along the Gay Street sidewalk and will be mounted 48" inches above the sidewalk.

Projecting sign - approximately 3'-6" wide by 26'-10" tall (94 sqft) with aluminum faces and illuminated channel letters and graphics with acylic faces. The sign will have a clearance with sidewalk of approximately 35'.

Wall sign (rear elevation) - 4'-8" tall by 58'-6 ?" wide (~273 sqft) sign with illuminated letters and graphics that have acrylic faces. NOTE: The letters are shown black on the plan sheet but will be white when installed. The black color on the plan is for contrast purposes only.

----------------------------------------- BELOW APPROVED (8/17/2016) ------------------------------------------

Storefront: The approved storefront (7/20/2016) had only two doors, the automatic sliding door in the middle of the storefront and a swinging door on the left side of the storefront. There is now a third door on the right side of the storefront. The doors on the right and left side of the storefront both swing in. In addition, the large storefront windows previously were split into two panes of glass with a muntin separating them and the revised design now proposes one large pane of glass. This revision is more similar to the historic storefront design.

------------------------------------------ BELOW APPROVED 7/20/2016 -------------------------------------

This project is an adaptive re-use of an existing structure, changing the building's current business use back to its original use as a hotel.

The exterior improvements include the installation of a new storefront system with automatic sliding doors, as noted on the attached drawings. The improvements also include reconstructing two new canopies intended to replicate entry canopies appearing in early historic photos of the Gay Street and Clinch Avenue elevations of the building.

A new open-air rooftop plaza is also be proposed as shown on the attached drawings.

Proposed Materials:

New canopies at Gay St. and Clinch Ave. entrances:
1) Glass panels to match historic photos of canopy
2) Painted pressed metal crestings to match historical photos of canopy
3) Pressed metal panel ceiling (painted)
4) Metal trim (painted)
5) Metal plate roof (painted)

Rooftop bar/restaurant:
1) Precast pavers on raised pedestal supports for flooring
2) Glass guardrails
3) Painted steel safety railing at penthouse stair
4) Metal planters
5) Metal panel / cement board siding
6) New EPDM roof flashing
Staff Comments
This building is within the Gay Street Commercial National Register Historic District, so the Historic Resources section of the guidelines apply. The owner/developer of the property is seeking historic tax credits and the design of the building is subject to approval from the National Park Service as well as from the Downtown Design Review Board. Elements of the design shown in the attached plans are subject to change based on the requirements of the National Park Service which has more stringent standards than the Downtown Knoxville Design Guidelines for the renovation and repair of historic structures.

The guidelines recommend non-illuminated signs in national register districts. All of the proposed signs have illuminated letters and graphics. Staff is recommending that the plaque signs that are on either side of the main entrance be non-illuminated because those signs will have the most impact on pedestrians on Gay Street. The projecting sign is the most visible on the streetscape, however, because of its height above the sidewalk, staff is less concerned about the illumination. This sign will be similarly scaled to the Regal Riviera sign, which is on the same block as the Farragut Building (Hyatt Place). The Regal sign is 5'-0" wide by 26'-0" tall (130 sqft), though most of this sign is only 3'-0" wide so it is actually closer to 80 sqft is size. The Hyatt sign is 94 sqft. The Regal sign appears to be approximately 20-25' above the sidewalk and the proposed Hyatt Place sign will be approximately 35' above the sidewalk. The Hyatt Place is a prominent building and destination on Gay Street, which in staff's opinion makes a projecting sign that is larger than what the board has typically approved appropriate for this location. The much larger Tennessee Theatre sign on the Burwell Building which is directly across Clinch Avenue. The Hyatt Place sign should not block the visibility of this sign to any substantial degree.

Signs attached the rear elevation of buildings are not addressed by the design guidelines, however, in recent past the board has approved some signs on rear of buildings facing James White Parkway for buildings that front on Gay Street and no frontage on State Street. In these instances the board approved either no illumination or exterior illumination only. In addition, when internal illumination has been approved, the building was not within a national register historic district, unlike the Farragut Building. Historically signs were placed on the rear of buildings but those were usually painted and did not have illumination like the more prominent business signs located in the Gay Street elevation. In considering an appropriate size for this location, the board should consider how high and visible the sign is (particularly from downtown locations), and how it compares with other signs with similar orientation. The rooftop sign at Marble Alley Lofts is 5'-0" tall and 53'-0" wide (or 270 square feet) and the Downtown Grill and Brewery sign is approximately 4'-3" tall by 42'-0" wide (or 178 square feet). The proposed Hyatt Place wall sign is approximately 273 square feet, which is the largest of similarly oriented signs. When comparing ratio of sign width to building width, this sign is similar to other signs on the rear elevation of buildings, which have a sign to building width ratio of .75 - .80 (except Tombras Group with a ratio of .32). The closest and most similarly located sign is Downtown Grill and Brewery with a ratio .77, however, it is non-illuminated. The Marble Alley sign is internally illuminated and faces James White Parkway but the building has frontage on Central Street and is much wider (but shorter), and is not located within a national register historic district.

Applicable guidelines:

Section 1.C.7. (RECOMMENDED SIGNS)
Commercial establishments need to advertise. However, advertising signs should be effective and appropriate to historic areas without contributing to visual clutter. Primary concerns are a sign's location, size, material, and illumination.
GUIDELINES:
7a. Locate signs above storefront windows, below second-story windows on the sign board, or on the storefront windows themselves (30% is maximum coverage), or off the front of the building as a projecting sign (maximum size: 9 square feet).
7b. Create signs that are proportional to the building where they are located.
7c. Do not light signs internally.
7d. Allow painted signs on building walls in the warehouse area along Jackson Avenue, and in some other locations along Gay Street.
7e. Preserve signs that are historic elements of buildings.

Section 2.B.1. (RECOMMENDED SIGNS)
These recommendations for signs in the traditional grid district recognize that certain types of signs are more pedestrian-friendly and should be encouraged within the grid district.
GUIDELINES:
1a. Wall signs on sign boards that are above a transom or first story and mounted flush to the building façade.
1b. Projecting signs of modest size (9 square feet, maximum); a larger sign must be approved by the board.
1c. Window signs, less than 30 percent coverage, including neon signs.
1d. Building name sign and/or building directory.
Applicant

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Planning Staff
Mike Reynolds
Phone: 865-215-3827
Email: mike.reynolds@knoxplanning.org
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