A few years ago, I drove past a sign that looked completely abandoned. At the time, it was outside our coverage area, and I remember thinking how unfortunate it was to see something representing our industry in such poor condition. Fast forward a bit – after one of our acquisitions, I happened to take a different route home while scouting for potential sites to help fill in our market gaps. By chance, I drove by that same sign again and decided it might be worth looking into.
Our real estate team jumped into action. One of our team members stopped by the restaurant that had previously advertised on the sign and learned that the new owners didn’t actually own it. After tracking down the state permit, we discovered it was still registered under the former restaurant owner’s name. Coincidentally, that owner had a cabin on the same island as our real estate manager, who managed to get in touch with them during his next visit.
The sign was located on railroad property, and with the previous owner having no use for it anymore, they were happy to let us take it. From there, we contacted the railroad company, who informed us that another billboard company managed their leases. After some back and forth to finalize the lease and insurance requirements, we were finally cleared to move forward.
We hired a local contractor to clean out the overgrown brush and remove the old painted plywood that had fallen from the sign. There were about three layers of it, and they’d become so heavy that nearly two-thirds of the face had come down.
Our construction crew then came in to remove the remaining material, replace the 2×6 stringers, and reinforce the wooden poles where needed. Fortunately, most of the structure and foundations were still in great shape. Once everything was secure, they installed new stringers, plywood, apron, and an “ad here” vinyl.
In the end, we secured a strong site in a key area, revitalized an eyesore, and did it all with minimal capital investment. Moral of the story: never overlook an old, abandoned sign… you never know what opportunity it might turn into!
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A thought before resuscitating an abandoned sign and putting money into it.
Many towns, counties, municipalities and state entities have overlapping rules/laws on abandoned signs for restarting their use…. Check with each entity for bringing back a conforming or nonconforming billboard. The Franklin folks appear to have done their homework.
Love it!!
Nice job!
Great update!