Today’s newsletter is presented by San Diego Theatres.
Hello, Uptown!
Back in July, the University Heights Community Association put out an urgent call to fix the iconic boxcar community sign. Now, the city has replaced the neon within the sign, but the community association wants to see the entire sign refurbished. They’re rallying the UH troops.
All of this initially started because the University Heights Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) fund’s reserves had run low while revenue wasn’t increasing. In case you don’t know, the MAD funds— managed by Parks and Rec and the community— are pulled together from properties in an area along Park Boulevard and goes into a “T” on Adams Avenue.
Those properties pay a yearly assessment fee to keep the business corridor in tip-top shape. So, repairs to a giant neighborhood sign illuminating a central area of the business corridor would fall within this fund. When the time came for such a repair, like I said, there wasn’t enough money in the pot.
When Marc Johnson, the president of UHCA, found out that the sign could likely go dark, he spread the news like wildfire. It spread on Instagram, TV stations picked it up and it got on the city’s radar. The city told the UH-MAD committee that it could cover a $24,000 replacement of the neon — and it did. Now the sign is all aglow once again.
I have a personal affinity for neon signs, so the fact that the sign will stay as such is a win in my book. There’s something different about a neon glow, no shade to LED.
But, the community association wants to see a full refurbishment of the sign to repair the metal and give it a fresh coat of paint. The city told them someone else has to foot that $80,000 bill. UHCA and the University Heights Development Corporation have taken the fundraising on for that endeavor.
In the meantime, though, University Heights’ neon lights have a new lease on life.
Let me know your favorite neighborhood sign in San Diego!
Tessa Balc
Uptown News newsletter host
Uptown story spotlight
Exclusive: One of the Islamic Center shooters went missing from a Normal Heights mental treatment facility the night before the attack
By Tessa Balc • Times of San Diego, Dorian Hargrove • Times of San Diego, and Andrew Keatts • Times of San Diego
In a new lawsuit, obtained by Times of San Diego, the parents of Caleb Vazquez said officials at Park Mental Health on University Avenue failed to ensure their son’s safety, and ultimately the safety of others, by not monitoring him.
Uptown News thanks our corporate sponsors. Find out more about sponsorships and advertising opportunities here.
More Uptown news
Uptown News thanks our corporate sponsors. Find out more about sponsorships and advertising opportunities here.