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Rendering of the planned new “East Rock Center” painted sign at 285 Nicoll.
Land-use commissioners unanimously signed off on a new 175 square-foot painted sign for a Nicoll Street factory-turned-commercial complex.
They granted that approval Wednesday night during the City Plan Commission’s latest monthly meeting, held online via Zoom.
The commissioners unanimously OK’d a special permit request from Narang New Haven Co. LLC for a painted sign at 285 Nicoll St.
That’s the former Rockbestos factory complex in the Goatville section of East Rock that is now home to a handful of commercial tenants, including East Rock Brewery and mActivity Fitness Center.
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Wednesday night’s City Plan Commission meeting.
ARTfx Permit Supervisor Lynda Laureano explained that the property owner — a holding company controlled by Fairfield-based landlord Rakesh Narang — plans to install a painted sign reading “East Rock Center” in large white letters on the second story, south-facing wall of the Nicoll Street building.
The proposed sign will be approximately five feet tall by 35 feet wide, or 175 square feet in total. Laureano said the width of the south building elevation — that is, of the facade facing the parking lot — is approximately 110 feet.
“I think the size is pretty compatible with the building,” she said. “It looks pretty attractive, and is not going to cause any glare to any residential property that is nearby.”
The location of the planned new sign, in orange.
What does the name “East Rock Center” refer to? asked Westville Alder and City Plan Commissioner Adam Marchand. Is that the current name of the facility?
It is, Laureano replied. “The facility has several tenants in the building. It’s known as the East Rock Center.” The new sign is designed to help identify the building.
Even when this building was home to an industrial use, Commission Vice-Chair Ed Mattison said, it’s often had a large sign in this very spot, facing south and looking out over that same Nicoll Street parking lot.
“It’s hard to see why anybody would object to having it there.”
Indeed, no one spoke up against the sign, and the commissioners unanimously granted their support.
The approval comes two months after the East Rock Center property manager won permission from the Board of Zoning Appeals to erect two smaller pole signs nearby, also advertising the building.
