Developer wants to light up OP with huge digital display. But city could pull the plug
Overland Park artist Jeff Hanson has seen his bold, textured paintings in People magazine and on the side of a NASCAR race car. He’s even sold one to Elton John.
But he’s never seen his artwork displayed on a massive digital board, animated in multicolored LED lights. Until Tuesday night.
Developer Kenneth Block lit up the display and demonstrated what he hopes will be a permanent addition to one of his new office buildings at CityPlace. He said the digital art adds some life and color to his new stone and glass WellSky Corporate Office at 11300 Switzer Road in Overland Park.
But it has to be approved by the city first. And some officials have recently worried out loud that an influx of bright, colorful lights and signs could diminish the city’s suburban feel.
“Those who have been to a meeting where we have talked about electronic signs know that I am concerned that we start implementing them in a managed and efficient way — so that we don’t turn into the Las Vegas Strip, especially on our interstates,” Councilman Curt Skoog said during an Aug. 5 meeting when the City Council was considering a different light display.
Block, with Block Real Estate Services, promises the digital board wrapping the top of the office building isn’t there to advertise to cars whizzing by on nearby U.S. 69. He demonstrated the possibilities with a digital display of a colorful painting by Hanson, a legally blind Overland Park artist whose work now sells for tens of thousands of dollars.
He likens the display to those in downtown Kansas City and other large metros. He pointed to the Target headquarters in Minneapolis as inspiration.
“You see this in other cities, in Times Square and things like that, where people use digital technology to express themselves,” Block said. “In our case, it’s not for the purpose of signage or advertising. It’s more for the purpose of providing an opportunity to show some artistic work and to really make these buildings more than just a place to go to work.”
And Block said he is building something similar at a new high-rise office building, 46 Penn Centre, on the Country Club Plaza.
But the problem, he said, is that Overland Park and many other cities don’t have guidelines for digital signs and displays. Sean Reilly, a spokesman for the city, said the Planning Commission will consider Block’s request on Sept. 9.
“Overland Park has signage codes and things like that, but in our case, this is not signage. This is not a billboard with our names on it,” Block said. “This is about displaying art and changing how people look at real estate.”
After opening the office building, Block received a special-use permit to temporarily display fireworks on the board for the Fourth of July. Now he hopes the city will allow him to keep the lights on full time, and then potentially draft an ordinance to allow and regulate light displays in the future.
Throughout City Hall, officials have been talking about regulating electronic signs and displays in recent months. Reilly said developers of the multisport and retail complex Bluhawk, southwest of U.S. 69 and 159th Street, also have asked to display digital signs along their property.
And even a company’s request to display an electronic holiday sign this winter took up a large chunk of the City Council meeting on Aug. 5. The council ended up approving the request from Creative Consumer Concepts, near Roe Avenue and College Boulevard.
“This is probably going to be the biggest impact we’re going to have on our local, visual environment in Overland Park: how we manage the implementation of electronic signs,” Skoog told the council.
Block has been incorporating sculptures and other art into all of his new buildings at CityPlace, just south of College Boulevard, but this is the first digital display.
It’s an animated version of “Cruising the Caribbean” by Hanson, whose bright style pops for those with limited vision. He has sold paintings to the likes of Billy Joel and Olivia Wilde, with thousands of dollars in proceeds going to the Children’s Tumor Foundation. Hanson lost most of his vision because of a tumor on his optic nerve.
To date, Hanson said he’s raised $5.5 million for charity. And he hopes to add some six-figure donations to the foundation.
Julie Hanson, Jeff’s mom, said digital art displays would show “bold and forward thinking” for Overland Park.
His dad, Hal Hanson, said the board could serve as a “blank screen for all kinds of artists.”
On Tuesday, Block assured residents the digital display is tasteful and not obstructive, pointed away from residences and directed at the highway. He also thinks it adds something new to the city and his expansive multi-use development. When everything is built, he expects 3,000 people to live at CityPlace apartments and another 3,000 to commute there for work in the four office buildings.
If the display is approved, Block said he will consider adding digital boards to other office buildings under construction.
“We could set up conduits underground so that we can tie these buildings together,” he said. “We could have an art piece going on one, then shifting to the other three buildings and back and forth. It could be really amazing. When it’s all said and done, you could have a 1,000-foot-long art exhibit.”
Block said it’s time for Overland Park to embrace new styles of development.
“This is a digital society now, and if we don’t change, if older guys and gals don’t change, they’ll get left behind,” he said. “This is for a new generation.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2019 at 4:26 PM.
