Neighborhood Signs

Project History (2014-2015)

At the Civic Club’s August 2014 Residents meeting, the board’s objective was to check the pulse of the neighborhood as it related to our esplanade signs. The result was an overwhelming majority supported the replacement of our signs which are located on Buffalo Speedway and S. Braeswood (pictured below).

A rendering of a new proposed sign was also displayed and feedback was collected at that meeting. Volunteers came forward to setup a Beautification sub-committee for the purpose of taking the feedback collected to make revisions to the design. Another goal was to see if we could reduce the estimated cost while not sacrificing quality. The end result is a fresh new design that we feel is unique to the other neighborhood signs (see artist rendering below).

We believe the new design has a modern look, but also has multiple historical significances. Below are many of the considerations and results of the committee’s hard work:

• Font selected is called bellerose and is a retro 1950’s font (which represents when the neighborhood was established)
• “Est. 1951” date is when Knollwood Village Civic Club was established. Homes began being built in 1951 and all of the sections that now make up the neighborhood was established in 1954.
• A hill or “knoll” was added to the design to represent “Knollwood”
• A tree was added to symbolize our mature trees that help make our neighborhood so beautiful
• The colors and Aluminum materials were selected for a more modern look and to help avoid making the signs look like cemetery head stones.
• The rooftop shape of the sign and the top of the brick columns represents that we are a residential neighborhood
• The brick columns add another element of the makeup of many of the original homes
• The design and materials selected ensure signs that should last maintenance free for ~25 years and with a little love after that should make them last another 25 years.
• Paint selection is essentially the same grade as a car paint job and is coated to protect against graffiti.

In general, we believe these new signs will:

• Serve to mark the boundaries of our neighborhood
• Present a positive image of our neighborhood
• They’ll convey the message that the neighborhood is protected by deed restrictions
• They’ll convey a sense of permanence and quality and give the neighborhood an identity within the city
• They’ll be graphically clear and easy to read
• …and they won’t be a distraction to passing motorists

Special thanks to the following residents who participated in this final design: Emily Anmuth, David Fitts, Bert Magh, Reed Hablinski, Liz Devaney, Parul Vyas, Brian Warwick, Hector Caram, Brent Nyquist, and Scott Rose.

Costs / Fundraising Campaign and Timeline

The previous design was estimated to be about $31,000 which includes demo of existing signs, permitting, construction and installation of 2 new double-sided signs. As of Jan 20, 2015 we have completed the permitting process and we have finalized the costs of the signs and are happy to report some reduced costs, final costs will be $22,875. We recently applied for a Grant with the City of Houston and we are excited to report that we have been awarded $2,845.13 towards the project. The grant does stipulate that we pay for the project initially and it does require us to be completed with the project by May 31st, 2015 in order to be reimbursed so that’s our goal for completion.

In order to meet that goal means we need to be successful in meeting our fundraising goals. We have $3,570 donated already which means our target fundraising goal is $16,460. Based on typical dues participation, if each donating resident contributes $50, we should meet our target. We need to cut off fundraising by March 15th in order to give our vendor 5 to 7 weeks for installation. Residents will be able to add their donation with the dues invoice coming in the mail or you can pay securely online using the donation button below.

Numbers updated (3-29-15), we DID IT, we reached our goal!