A new digital billboard was installed this week atop the historic Keys Building, replacing a billboard that had been in place since the 1950s.
The sign on the roof of 307 E. McBee Ave. is visible from Church Street. Greenville developers Steve Navarro and Doug Harper own the Keys Building and are in the process of redeveloping the property, which has been vacant for years. The billboard has provided “a source of income” as the two waited for the area to grow and “create a real sense of place,” said Navarro. The billboard is also grandfathered in as one of very few remaining billboards in downtown Greenville’s Central Business District, he said.
The new digital billboard is also unique in that it is not owned by Fairway Outdoor, said Navarro. Grace Outdoor, which operates digital signs in Charlotte, Columbia, Atlanta and Charleston, will manage the advertising on the sign and already has several advertisers lined up.
“Downtown Greenville will have another opportunity to communicate its offerings to the area,” said Grace Outdoor partner Hal Stevenson. “We have found that digital signs create the opportunity for nonprofits and fundraising events that don’t typically have a large advertising budget to do a two-week or short term ad to get the word out.”
An agreement has also been made with the city of Greenville to allow use of one of the slots to notify passersby of upcoming events and other city notifications.
Navarro said they started working with the city over a year ago, laying out various options. “We wanted something that would work in harmony with the building,” he said. The new digital billboard is about 40 percent smaller than the previous one, but maintains an industrial look with exposed trusses.
The digital billboard will be turned off from midnight until 6 a.m. and has a sophisticated light sensor that brings the light down to the ambient light around it, said Stevenson.
