The Maxwell House coffee plant Downtown plans to update the LED lighting in the facility’s historic sign to restart the sequenced coffee drips and add seasonal colors.
The Downtown Development Review Board will consider Maxwell House’s application for a special sign exception at a July 9 meeting.
According to a Downtown Investment Authority staff report, Maxwell House plans to change the existing red and blue LED lighting to new LED multicolored programmable lighting on the western facing sign and to introduce lighting to the eastern facade signage.
DIA staff recommended approval.
The new lighting will allow Maxwell House to change the color of the sign, cup and drips to reflect holidays and special occasions, the report states.
DIA staff said Maxwell House is considering adding teal and gold during Jacksonville Jaguars football games. The plant is at 735 E. Bay St., not far from TIAA Bank Field.
Plans filed by General Sign Service Corp. show individual power supplies for each coffee drip in the sign, allowing for the sequencing effect.
The proposed LED multicolored lighting will replace the existing LED lighting used in the steel porcelain signage attached to the Maxwell House plant.
The plant has been operating since 1924. The Maxwell House sign has been visible on the Downtown skyline since 1955. According to the DIA staff report, the cup and coffee drips were added in 1970.
When Maxwell House replaced the sign’s original neon lighting with LEDs, the plant lost the ability to sequence the sign’s drips, the report states. The proposed signage plans would not change the scale or placement of the sign.
The plant employs about 200 people. It is owned by Kraft Heinz Corp. and is the last remaining Maxwell House plant in the U.S.
The DDRB will meet virtually via Zoom at 2 p.m. July 9.