A new entrance sign for Maurice Gibb Memorial Park would cost about $400,000, city estimates

Replacing the entrance sign at Maurice Gibb Memorial Park, 1700 Purdy Ave., with a larger one celebrating the park’s music theme would cost about $400,000 and take up to 19 months, according to a city memo for Friday’s Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee meeting.

The bayfront park in Sunset Harbour reopened in April 2025 after a renovation paid for by the 2018 general obligation bond. The work cleaned up petroleum-contaminated soil, raised the seawall and added a music-themed playground, a dog park, a fishing pier, shade structures and picnic areas, the memo says. Refurbishing the existing curved stone sign was part of that project.

What neighbors asked for

When the Land Use and Sustainability Committee discussed a new sign in March, there was no design to price, so it asked staff to work one out with Sunset Harbour residents. Neighbors wanted something larger and more visible, with artistic touches such as a harp, a guitar and a musical score, according to the memo. Staff sketched an idea at that meeting and then used artificial intelligence to turn it into a concept drawing for estimating cost. The concept is an aluminum sign that reuses the existing electrical connection for uplighting, with LED accent lights.

The price

Staff estimate about $45,000 for design and structural engineering, $4,500 for surveying and soil testing, $12,000 for permits, $242,500 for demolition of the old sign, fabrication, installation and landscaping changes, and $96,000 for contingency and other costs. The city would have to hire a designer and a contractor, and the Design Review Board would have to approve the sign. Design and permitting would take six to seven months and building it another nine to 12, the memo says.

No money is set aside for it. The memo notes the city projects a general fund deficit in fiscal 2028 and recommends that any funding be considered in that year’s budget. Commissioner Alex Fernandez sponsored the referral.

The committee meets at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive. The same agenda includes a $1.1 million estimate for moving the North Beach Log Cabin.