OCEANSIDE — Earlier this year, a contest was launched between architects to create a landmark sign to be installed downtown to attract residents and visitors while also making the area more pedestrian-friendly.
After a winner was determined in the spring, Mainstreet Oceanside, city staff and architects have been working on fulfilling the project.
Partners Ann Worth and Sarah Hirschman at Object Projects, a San Diego-based architecture firm, submitted the winning design back in January along with many other potential designs. They were chosen as one of five finalists and then finally selected as the winners in late spring.
Their design features a large “O” formed by several O-shaped discs to be suspended above the intersection of Pier View Way and Tremont Street. The discs will be made of stainless steel while its four pillars, which will be placed at each of the four corners of the intersection, will be made of galvanized steel.
The sign will also feature LED lighting that will brighten the area as an element of safety as well as a beacon attracting visitors to the area.
“It’s almost like an urban-scale chandelier,” Worth said.
Worth was previously on the city’s Arts Commission before stepping down in 2019 and moving to San Diego. Despite no longer living in North County, Worth considers Oceanside an important focus for her firm. Object Projects is also currently working with the Oceanside Theatre Company to design renovations for the historic Brooks Theater.
The original budget for the project was $100,000 but jumped to $115,000 due to equipment upgrades, according to MainStreet Chief Operations Officer Gumaro Escarcega.
The sign will be mostly funded by the Downtown Business Improvement District, which is an assessment district managed by MainStreet Oceanside. The district is tasked with providing many “clean and safe” services and programming downtown, Escarcega said.
“We are adding other elements to dress up the intersection and complement the landmark ‘O’ sign,” Escarcega said.
Any other costs beyond that $115,000 figure will be picked up by MainStreet Oceanside or potential grant funding. Escarcega said the organization would also take responsibility for the sign’s maintenance as well.
Currently, the project awaits approval of permits from the California Coastal Commission. Escarcega said MainStreet staff has been working with city staff to ensure they have met all of their necessary checkmarks before the project reaches final approval from the city.
Both the Arts Commission and City Council have been informed about the project from the start, Escarcega said. The project is expected to go to Council, but MainStreet could obtain administrative approval “over the counter” as well.
“We are waiting for more direction from city staff,” Escarcega said.
Both MainStreet Oceanside and the architects are hoping to see the project complete either in early spring or before the busy tourist season next year.
