The commercial real estate development firm of Varnum Armstrong Deeter, LLC has a history of success in Kansas City dating back to 1969. One of its projects, the College Village center at College Blvd. and Quivira Rd. in Overland Park, was developed in the mid-1980s. Karen Miller, controller and sales agent, said the developers recognized the need for a new look.

“We felt that it was time to do some serious upgrades,” Miller said. “We wanted to really get a wow factor and make sure that our center stood out amongst some of our competitors.”

Ralph Varnum, principal at Varnum Armstrong Deeter, said the project went beyond simply a new signage package.

“The concept that Luminous came up with was to replace a sign band with a grid that had a color to it that we thought really popped,” Varnum said. “New signs, which were designed by Luminous, were then placed on top of the building where they stood out more.”

The results were transformational.

“Overall, it just gave the whole center a real fresh look,” Varnum said.

Miller agreed.

“It completely changed the look of the property without giving it a complete facelift,” Miller said.

Aside from the signs themselves, the customer also found satisfaction in the added value and additional services contributed by Luminous.

“Luminous did a lot of things right with this project,” Miller said. “But I think the very key one for me was that Fred, and Janice in the design department, worked with tenants one-on-one and got the ideas where they needed to be.”

“It made the whole thing very smooth for us,” Varnum said.

In the end, Luminous made important contributions to the ongoing success of the center and its many tenants.

“The result of the refurbishing has been beyond our expectations,” Miller said. “Keeping a modern look to our properties is key, and I think we’ve done that quite well with this project.”

For more information about this customer, visit the Varnum Armstrong Deeter website.