Blank billboard an eyesore or opportunity? City to decide

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/02/2018 (2453 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Friday, the fate of an ugly, blank billboard mounted on a huge metal frame atop a historic building downtown will be decided by a city appeals committee.

For years, the billboard poster space on top of the well-preserved Casa Loma apartments at Portage Avenue and Sherbrook Street has marred the view for people heading east toward downtown.

In January, the city’s board of adjustment rejected an application by Sussex Realty Ltd. to re-establish use of the oversized billboard on the heritage building at 650 Portage Ave.

The billboard space was going to be donated to the Winnipeg Art Gallery to promote exhibits and its new Inuit Art Centre opening in 2020.

If the building’s owners win Friday’s appeal, the WAG stands to benefit from up to five years of free advertising space, Sussex Realty has said.

The billboard hasn’t been used since 2013. Billboards require conditional-use permits, and the City of Winnipeg rejected the structure on top of Casa Loma because it violates zoning bylaws in several ways: it is three times the maximum allowable size for the area, it is in view of nearby residential apartments, it is mounted on a rooftop and it is on a historic building.

The billboard has the support of Winnipeggers, said the lawyer representing the building’s owners.

“The billboard is a downtown community asset and has been part of the downtown character for at least the last 80-plus years,” John Prystanski said.

“We have community support from both groups and residents, and the owners want to get this sign functional immediately,” Prystanksi said.

In January, the city’s planning, property and development department said with the billboard’s conditional use being rejected, it will be considered a derelict sign and steps can be taken to have it removed. Heritage Winnipeg’s Cindy Tugwell warned that the steel frame won’t easily be removed because of the building’s heritage status — and Winnipeggers will be stuck looking at it for many more years to come.

Friday’s appeals committee hearing is at 9 a.m. at city hall.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca