Electronic sign for new Tony’s creates a buzz

The sign for Tony’s Fresh Market will be shorter but brighter than the Kmart sign that stood for decades at the corner of Jefferson Street and Larkin Avenue.

The Joliet City Council this month approved an electronic sign for Tony’s, which is renovating the old Kmart for its new store and developing other space on the 9.5-acre site. Planet Fitness also will open on the site.

The council on May 17 approved an electronic sign that will be almost 38 feet high to replace the 42-foot high sign that stood on the corner to mark the Kmart location from the 1960s until it closed in late 2016.

A special use permit was needed because the total area of the sign will exceed the city standard of 50 feet, according to a staff memo to the council. The Tony’s sign will be 84 square feet in size.

The permit was granted to Olympik Signs.