Cima, K&S Provide Sign Facelift for Granite Run Mall

Bill Lockett is president of Cima Network (Chalfont, PA), a sign-design and project-management firm.

Madison Marquette, a leading investor, developer and operator of retail and mixed-use real estate, acquired Media, PA’s Granite Run Mall in April 2011. Madison Marquette has gained a reputation for transforming obsolete real estate into vibrant, dynamic retail destinations that convey a real sense of place.
The property’s previous owners were fighting a losing battle with a newer local mall, and vacancies had increased. Madison Marquette needed to stabilize the mall by leasing vacant space and improving Granite Run’s infrastructure and operational efficiencies.

Although the mall had declined prior to Madison Marquette’s takeover, Granite Run, founded in 1974, was still regarded as a community cornerstone strategically positioned within Philadelphia’s well-to-do, western suburbs. Madison Marquette, the mall’s remaining tenants and community leaders united in the task to refurbish this local icon. If Madison Marquette‘s formula proved successful, store occupancy would swell, and customers would return.

A beautiful friendship
Having recently completed a successful partnership in developing new signage for Madison Marquette’s Glen Eagle Square in Glen Mills, PA, Cima Network Inc. was eager to undertake this project. Mark Lockett, our business-development manager; Keith Denny, our senior designer and co-owner, and I met with Madison Marquette’s GM, Bill Leppert; marketing director Aubrey Proud; and operations manager Ken Lupold, who supervised Granite Run’s upgrade.

From the beginning, they obviously regarded signage as critical to the mall’s success. Based in nearby Chalfont, our staff is very familiar with the mall, and we were excited to begin revitalizing Granite Run Mall through new signage and environmental branding.

Our primary mission required designing, fabricating and installing new freestanding signs, wayfinding and gateways that captured the mall’s new design intent, while adhering to tight budgetary guidelines. Denny started creating a color palette with Proud and Robyn Marano, Madison Marquette’s regional marketing director.

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Denny said, “The mall’s original sign-color palette featured lavender, light gray and teal. The copy was 3M Scotchlite™ applied vinyl, which created a time-consuming changeover for each tenant. I chose a cleaner, more contemporary tone with Pantone Matching System (PMS) 431 and 428 [dark and light gray] and black, with white, Scotchlite media for the changeable panels’ directional copy. And, I chose more legible, simple fonts.”

Cost constraints dictated that we repurpose as many existing sign structures and components as possible; doing so generated five-figure savings. Even with “recycling” some sign components, Madison Marquette clearly wanted enough signage alterations to refresh the brand and let consumers know it was developing a fresh, progressive image for Granite Run.

Within a week, the Cima team presented initial concepts for our mutual vision – a new color palette and new sign components, ready for implementation. When fabricating a sign project, enlisting the right partner is vital to our success. To fabricate the Granite Run job, Cima chose K&S Concepts (Lansdale, PA). Cima’s Jim Rose teamed with K&S to supervise installation.

Success in the details
The mall’s existing sign package comprised four pylon signs of various sizes: 12 roadway directional signs and five gateway elements that required identification. The two, main-entrance pylon signs offered exceptional traffic exposure, but needed improvements. Each structure measures approximately 40 x 17 ft. and features routed faces backed with sheetmetal. Denny’s new design added several layers of dimension.

First, he designed a 0.125-in.-thick, curved aluminum header that spans the sign’s entire width. We mounted these headers to the existing structure using custom-bent, 2 x 4-in., painted aluminum angle. The angle supports the new header and also adds another reveal between the existing structure and the new elements.

K&S removed the existing faces and replaced them with 0.125-in.-thick, aluminum pan faces with 5-in.-deep, Sloan LED-illuminated, white channel letters. The new channel letters included custom trim caps and painted returns and trim cap, which create a floating effect with the new, white faces. The existing design facilitated coves, which we incorporated by adding 15mm, white EGL neon that provides a halo effect for the “Granite Run Mall” header. Cima explored the option of using an LED product for the cover lighting, but longevity, brightness and neon’s track record made it our best option.

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Cima also brought in its painting team, which decorated the face with Sherwin-Williams DTM (direct to metal) paint using a 60-ft. boom lift. They completed the entire painting process in less than three weeks.
The two, smaller, onsite pylon signs were situated at less frequently used entrances from the same roads as the main pylon signs. Measuring 17 ft. x 8 ft. 4 in., they’re a design extension of the larger pylons. Cima installed the custom-fabricated, curved headers on these signs as well. The fabricated headers sat atop the existing structures using 2 x 2 x ½-in., painted-aluminum angle. The angle served two purposes: mounting hardware for the new components, and an attractive, painted design reveal.

The existing routed, backed faces were removed and replaced with new aluminum processed on a MultiCam 3000 CNC router. K&S backed the faces with 3M’s day/night vinyl. The media gives the signfaces a charcoal-gray appearance by day, and white under illumination at night. Cima’s painting team also updated these structures with Sherwin-Williams DTM paint to match various selected colors. The addition of white, cove-lighting neon also highlights the new faces by providing a uniform halo effect that matches the larger pylons.

Showing the way
Upgrading Granite Run’s 12 existing, access-road directional signs presented a major hurdle. Because these markers served as main wayfinding tools for mall patrons, Cima wanted to limit their downtime. Due to their age and location, they were in very rough shape. Some had even been hit by vehicles. Each directional sign was buried directly into a poured concrete footing. To maximize the impact of the ring-road signs, Cima decided to remove the existing pan faces, and leave the frames in place.

The painting team arrived onsite and, after having enclosed the work area with a tent, neatly (and inexpensively) prepped and painted the structures. While the painters refreshed the existing structures, K&S fabricated 12 smaller versions of the architectural header. Once K&S had finished the headers, we mounted them to the directional-sign structures with 2 x 2 x 3/16-in., painted-aluminum angle.

K&S manufactured and painted 0.125-in.-thick, aluminum panels to match PMS #431 (the dark gray). We added white, reflective 3M vinyl to the individual panels to identify the various tenants. Several blank spaces allowed for future additions. Each was attached to the structure with countersunk screws. To complete the new access-road signs, K&S CNC-routed 3/8-in.-thick, black Plexiglas® acrylic letters, which were pin-mounted to the main structure.

The final sign components we addressed were the five gateway elements located throughout the mall property. Each entry was previously identified with an aluminum panel and white, vinyl numerals. With limited room to add identification, Cima again wanted to maximize impact with minimal budget impact. We added CNC-routed, 3/8-in.-thick black, acrylic letters to the existing, aluminum-clad, I-beam, canopy structures. The 10-in.-tall letters identify the mall name, and 12-in.-tall entry numerals, complemented with diamond graphics, maintain the mall’s entrance-ID system.

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Solid as a rock
Cima incorporated most of the existing structures and all existing footings, which provided huge cost savings. In addition to helping the budget, we created a new look indicative of Madison Marquette’s high standards and a revitalized Granite Run Mall brand.

The mall’s grand reopening happened amidst great fanfare, and the community is responding well to the changes. As Leppert said, “The new signage has updated the mall’s look and feel, and we’ve received great feedback from tenants and customers. Our visibility has increased immensely.”

Equipment and Materials
Acrylic: Plexiglas® acrylic, from SABIC Innovative Plastics (Pittsfield, MA), (866) 437-7427 or www.sabic-ip.com

Lighting: White, 15mm neon tubing from EGL (Berkeley Heights, NJ), (908) 508-1111 or www.egl-neon.com; self-enclosed, self-adjusting transformers, from Allanson (Toronto), (800) 668-9162 or www.allanson.com
Metal: Aluminum sheet and aluminum angle, from metal-supply or building-equipment stores

Router: MultiCam 3000 CNC router, from MultiCam (Dallas), (972) 929-4070 or www.multicam.com
Software: Photoshop® and Illustrator® software, from Adobe Corp. (San Jose, CA), (408) 536-6000 or www.adobe.com
Vinyl: Scotchlite™ white and day/night vinyl, from 3M (St. Paul, MN), (888) 364-3577 or www.3mgraphics.com

More About Bill
Bill Lockett serves as president of Chalfont, PA-based Cima Network, a sign-design and project-management firm. Previously, he served as business-development VP for Custom Finishers Inc. for three years. Lockett’s sign-business career has also included serving as a project manager and senior account executive. In addition to Regal Cinemas, Cima clients include Pep Boys, American Girl and Raymour & Flanigan. The company also serves as a representative for Moss Retail Environments, which include interior signs and environmental-graphic displays. For more information, visit www.cimanetwork.com.