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NIAGARA FALLS — A local businessman would like to shed some different light on City Hall and other municipal buildings in Niagara Falls.
Third Street property owner and developer Dan Vecchies earlier this week presented members of the Tourism Advisory Board with his plan to use LED-based lighting technology at city-owned buildings — and perhaps a few privately held structures — during holiday seasons and special events.
“It’s an idea to at least start making buildings in the city more appealing as people travel through downtown,” Vecchies said.
The proposed lighting displays would be capable of casting various color combinations, messages and even graphics on the side of buildings like City Hall. Vecchies noted similar systems are currently used by the Seneca Gaming Corp. at the casino and hotel downtown. He said developer Carl Paladino recently added a similar feature to the upper portion of his Giacomo Hotel on First Street.
LED lights are capable of illuminating large-scale buildings and offer lower energy costs when compared to traditional fluorescent and incandescent bulbs. Vecchies’ initial list of potential sites for city run displays includes City Hall, the city-owned Carnegie Building and Municipal Safety Complex on Main Street and the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center on Pine Avenue. His company, Clear Vision Marketing, has an arrangement in place with Philips Lighting which could supply the technology needed to do the project. He presented a proposal from his company to Mayor Paul Dyster during a recent one-on-one meeting.
Due to the cost involved, Dyster said it appears that it will likely be necessary for the city to put the project out to bid before making any determination on hiring a company to do the work. He added that he has seen similar displays work well in other cities and said a similar proposal was pitched to officials in Niagara Falls several years ago when he was a member of the city council. Dyster said he liked the concept then and thinks it has potential now.
“It’s still in the very preliminary stages, but I think it’s certainly an interesting idea, especially in a tourist destination like Niagara Falls,” Dyster said.
