Signs are good for Market East mall

More pieces were put in place yesterday toward transforming Center City's old Gallery mall into the Fashion Outlets of Philadelphia, with the Planning Commission's approval of the installation of nine large digital advertising signs.

The signs, similar to those that light up New York's Times Square, will adorn the front of the Market Street shopping center between 11th and 8th streets. None can be more than 90 feet above the sidewalk nor more than 1,600 square feet in area.

The project's developers, the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and the Macerich Co., asked for approval to install the signs as part of its $325 million renovation of the mall, which is scheduled to open in summer 2017.

"The whole project will create excitement. This is an integral part of it," said Kevin Feeley, a spokesman for the developers.

In granting its approval, the Planning Commission determined that the signs do not detract from the building's key architectural or character-defining features, and they will not create a material distraction to drivers or otherwise present a safety hazard or substantially interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of the neighborhood.

Although large, there won't be enough of the signs to bathe Market Street in the type of wattage in Times Square, said Alan Greenberger, a commission member and deputy mayor for economic development.

"This is a disbursement of many smaller ones. Probably by themselves if you stood next to them, sure they're big. But seen in the scale of the street, not so big," he said.

The Planning Commission also approved the developers' public-improvement plan. That plan calls for the developers to spend just under $16.9 million in public-realm improvements, though only $10 million was required to be spent under an agreement with the city.

Among the improvements are: $1.95 million on sidewalks and a plaza; $740,812 on planters; $328,851 on landscaping; $217,000 on site furnishings; $1.4 million on new entrances and storefronts; and $1.3 million on glass canopies.

The commission also approved zoning changes for the East Callowhill Overlay District, which had been zoned for industrial use and is now zoned for commercial-mixed use.

The plan is to make the area bounded by Spring Garden, 2nd, Callowhill and 6th streets, into a pathway connecting Old City to the south to Northern Liberties to the north, Greenberger said.

"You've got two vibrant neighborhoods on either side; they desire to connect through redevelopment. We're hearing that there is a lot of interest from developers, so we really needed to formulate a remapping, a rezoning for the area that made sense," he said.