[dropcap]A[/dropcap]n iconic Main Street structure will have a new outlook, thanks to signage for the development project recently approved by the Buda Historic Preservation Commission (HPC).
The Buda HPC approved new signage to be added to the Buda Mill & Grain development in the 300 block of Main Street in downtown Buda Feb. 16.
The new proposed signage came in two different agenda items, as owner of Buda Mill & Grain Dodi Ellis requested signage for Buda Mill & Grain, as well as three smaller signs designed for tenants at the smaller businesses on site.
According to an agenda report, the proposed sign will be approximately 2 feet by 75 feet and will be made of stainless steel. Letters on the sign will be backlit with Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). The sign will create a gateway as an entry from the south, according to city documents.
The smaller signs requested by Ellis are part of a master sign design where each building/tenant gets a 3-foot by 3-foot sign that will project out from the wall. The fonts and colors used for the signs will be dependent on each tenant. The signs will be internally lit with LEDs.
According to documents, Buda city staff recommended HPC approve the signage requests as they meet Buda’s current Unified Development Code (UDC) standards and fit within the context of the Buda Mill & Grain.
The HPC members approved the applications for the new signage. Included in the application is a stipulation that the applicant will not commence work on erecting any signage until an approved CDC certificate is issued by the HPC chairman.
Ellis said in a later interview that the Buda Mill & Grain complex is currently home to six vendors that include a coffee/cocktail bar, yoga studio, specialty bike shop, hair salon and a retail consignment store.
Ellis said the more immediate future of the Buda Mill & Grain is to have four more retail tenants, as well as space marked for one restaurant and space marked for a separate brewery.
Ellis also said that she and her husband envision the Buda Mill & Grain as a destination spot for Buda residents and visitors to experience the “old town feel” and interconnectivity of Buda.
“We keep saying we’ve been a gathering place since 1914, and we still want to be that gathering place where people can go outside of work and home.”
Dodi Ellis, Buda Mill and Grain owner
With more vendors coming in that means more parking spaces and Ellis plans on a total of 300 spaces for the Buda Mill & Grain complex.
“It’s in the original footprint of the old Mill,” Ellis said. “And it’s a place where people can feel a sense of community which is what everyone is looking for.”
