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Sparks fly over plans for a sign
By Stacey Burling and Robert Moran
Inquirer Staff Writers
Jul 24, 2008
How long can a bevy of lawyers talk about a six-letter sign? We still don't know, but Philadelphia's Zoning Board of Adjustment learned the hard way yesterday that it's a lot longer than two hours.
The board allotted that much time for a hearing on whether Unisys Corp. can put big signs on two sides of the building it plans to make its new world headquarters next year: Two Liberty Place in Center City.
But, this being Philadelphia, the proposed signs have sparked quite an argument about how the city should look and what it means to live in a commercial district. So two hours was not even enough time for Unisys to finish its side of the case. It contends that its red logo, glowing in 11-foot-high letters from the 38th and 39th floors, is crucial to its branding efforts and would help the city's image as well.
The zoning board said it would schedule another hearing in September. That's when opponents, who include wealthy residents of the mixed-use building, will get their say about the artistic merits of the signs.
In letters to the zoning board, they have argued that the logo would mar the looks of the iconic, blue-glass tower, lower their property values, make Philadelphia's skyline less attractive to filmmakers, and attract terrorists (because Unisys has worked for the Department of Defense).
In one of the letters, lawyer Thomas Kline wrote that he had recently bought a condo on the 41st floor for a "substantial" amount. He said he was buying into an "exclusive residential community" with a separate entrance and elevator from the office space. "I did not, and would not have chosen to make the 'Unisys Building,' a corporate office building, my home."
Unisys plans to move 225 of its employees from Blue Bell to the building, and, as part of the deal, wants the 912-square-foot signs to raise its visibility.
The company says it will rethink its move if it does not get approval for the signs.
"If we don't get the right to put up our logo display, we would need to reevaluate our business case and decision," Brian Daly, director of media relations for Unisys, said before the hearing.
A Unisys official said yesterday that its 15-year lease on 90,000 square feet in the building allows it to seek approval for the signs, although getting that approval was not a condition of the lease. Unisys lawyer Jerald Goodman said the company was taken by surprise when building residents took issue with its plans.
"Unisys did not anticipate this welcome to Philadelphia and has been surprised by this strenuous opposition," he said.
Philadelphia's zoning code allows signs on the building, but only below the second floor, Goodman said. Variances are also required for signs bigger than 100 square feet. In addition, Unisys must appear before the city Department of Licenses and Inspections and faces a federal lawsuit filed by opponents.
Unisys supporters said the tops and bottoms of the logo's letters would be covered in black metal so red light would not glow up or down. The floors where the signs would be situated are not occupied. Goodman said the signs "will not flash or blink or sparkle."
Thomas Zara, a marketing expert with Interbrand Corp., testified for Unisys that a street-level sign would do far less to spread the company's name than an upper-floor display that could be seen from much farther away.
George Thomas, another Unisys witness who described himself as an architectural and cultural historian, said that recruiting a Fortune 500 company such as Unisys to Philadelphia was a positive sign and that the red logos would be visible proof of the city's resurgence.
"Businesses don't like to go to places that are dying and try to put their name on it," he said. "The game is to tell people that Philadelphia is coming back to life."
He added that a mixture of commercial and residential properties in cities is a trend, as are prominently displayed logos on buildings. "This is in fact the norm in a late-20th-, 21st-century city," he said.
And, he pointed out, the residents of Liberty Place "happen to have bought in a commercial building in a commercial district."
The Unisys logo would not be alone on the skyline. PECO has its famous crawling message board. Aramark has a prominent Center City sign. The former PSFS building stands out at night with the still-present PSFS glowing in red atop the architectural landmark.
As the lead tenant in its new tower, Comcast Corp. has the right to put its name on the 56-story building but chose not to after studying other buildings in New York and other cities, D'Arcy Rudnay, senior vice president, said yesterday. The company concluded that it wanted to preserve the building's "sleek and elegant" exterior, she said.
Cigna Corp., the biggest tenant in Two Liberty Place, wrote one of the letters opposing the Unisys signs. It said it has the right to put signs of its own on the north and south sides of the building but chose "not to exercise those rights, preferring instead to preserve Two Liberty's architectural aesthetics."
Should signs on skyscrapers be allowed to lure tenants to Center City? Vote at philly.com
Contact staff writer Stacey Burling at 215-854-4944 or sburling@phillynews.com .
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