We’ve recently completed installation of a 26′ x 32′ mural located on the side of The Sarasota Modern hotel, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel that is part Marriott International, Inc. on Boulevard of the Arts here in Sarasota. Created by the renowned Canadian artist Claire Desjardins the 32 piece mural elements affixed to a vertical wall mount system produced by SH Immersive Environments required three days of carefully aligning and adjusting to secure the artwork that now adorns the North Elevation of the building and represents the latest addition to The City of Sarasota’s public art program.

We are pleased to have been part of the team that enabled completion of the Mangrove Walkway portion of The Bay Sarasota that officially opened for public access on April 10. Working with the team at Jon F. Swift Construction sections of the walkway were laid out, cut and numbered. These board sections were bundled and transported to our shop where after matching the provided cad layout we set up, routed, stained and sanded the boards before stacking the sections for their return to the site.

The Bay Sarasota is envisioned as an iconic and aspirational park for all citizens and visitors to Sarasota and the west coast of Florida and now features sections of Kebony planking engraved with elements found in the environment the walkway traverses as well as descriptions of the flora represented as a part of that experience.

Gulf Coast Signs has begun producing a portable Sneeze Shield for businesses looking to add this as personal protection for their staffs and guests during the phased reopening of businesses across the region. These laser cut clear acrylic pieces are offered in two (2) standard sizes 29″ x 23½” or 23½” x 29″ but custom sizes can easily be produced to meet a client’s needed dimensions.. Let us know how we can help.Sneeze Shield & Cleaning Instructions

We’ve recently completed re-branding the existing wall sign at the Sarasota School of Arts & Sciences just in time for the new school year. The project consisted of creating three distinct aluminum overlay panels for an existing projecting sign incorporating both dimensional and painted elements using the school colors and updated mascot. Parents and visitors to the school will be welcomed by either a white panel with the school name presented as vertically orientated stacked copy in black or a reversed panel having a black finish with a painted grey tone mascot under white copy. The students and parents while on school property are watched over by the school mascot featured as white dimensional HDU elements on a black field. The sign is unified with a base band in red displaying a white dimensional acronym reading SSA+S on all sides.

Signs of the Times, an industry trade publication have included a small feature in their April issue of a renovation undertaken last fall. The ST Update summarizes how Gulf Coast Signs of Sarasota, Inc. (GCS) was tasked to fully refurbish the 35-foot tall iconic Guitar Sign at the Tampa Seminole Hard Rock Casino & Hotel. The guitar was disassembled on site, loaded on trailers and transported to the GCS facility. The sign finish was completely stripped then body work was performed prior to priming before the new custom paint finish was applied using high-end paint systems, House of Colors, Matthews MAP and Mathews HP Polyester clear coat, plus new neon, transformers and wiring. The renovated guitar was then transported and installed at the new entrance. The renovated Guitar, thanks to top notch dedicated GCS team commitment to excellence sets new quality standard worldwide. That is why customers reach out to GCS for challenging high-profile projects.

Thanks to the continued focus on Safety and Environmental responsibility by each and every member of the team, this summer saw Gulf Coast Signs reach another safety milestone, ten years (3650 days) of work performed without Loss Time Injury. The Business Observer, a weekly newspaper for business leaders on the Gulf Coast of Florida also took note and included an article highlighting our achievement. A safety and business communication meeting at Gulf Coast Signs every Monday serves as a platform to review safety incidents and what our team can learn from these various experiences. Safety is part of our culture and will remain so every day as we move forward to many more milestones.

The City of Sarasota recently contracted Gulf Coast Signs to produce a Welcome Sign from their Gateway Project design set.

The 10 foot tall monolith features an architectural aluminum support structure with custom fabricated clips & trim. Aluminum sheet sandwiches a perforated aluminum core and holds pin mounted laser cut acrylic copy enhanced with first surface reflective vinyl film. Matthews acrylic polyurethane paints were used for the color finishes and the entire sign was coated with a polyester clear coat for extended UV and finish protection.

We have recently completed the fabrication and installation of a portion of the master planned vehicle directional monuments for Benderson Development. These directional signs assist motorists in locating specific tenants, centers and office campuses that make up part of the greater University Town Center development.

The signs are all aluminum fabrication. filled and finished with an Matthews acrylic polyurethane paint presenting a seamless architectural quality appearance. Tenant panels are attached with concealed mechanical fasteners and decorated with 3M High Performance opaque vinyl graphics. Currently four signs are installed with three waiting completion of road construction projects to make their debut.

This weekend marked the nine year (3285 days) milestone of work performed without Loss Time Injury at Gulf Coast Signs of Sarasota, Inc. (GCS). This outstanding accomplishment is the direct result of our focus on Safety and Environmental responsibility by every single member of GCS team. As the owner, I believe in providing safe work environment in which the employees can do their assigned tasks safely while providing efficient and quality service in pursuit of ultimate customer satisfaction. While we had significant challenges during the tough economic environment of the last eight years we maintained our value principles – achieving customer satisfaction through people, quality, safety and environmental responsibility – that is why we believe we are the premier full service sign company in our market.

As the proud owner I am privileged to be the leader of such a class team. On behalf of the entire GCS team, I want to thank all our customers, and our external partners helping us reach this outstanding accomplishment. When we work safely everyone wins; the employees win, the employees’ families win, our external partners win, and our customers win; ultimately the GCS team.

Let’s keep it up GCS team, I salute you!

Hidayet L. Kutat, President / CEO

Shriner’s International established in 1870 is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and is well known for it’s charitable Hospitals for Children, a network of twenty-two hospitals in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The entrance to the Tampa headquarters features a statue fountain and commemorative plaza including a pair of semi-circular walls adorned with the names of those who have served as the Imperial Potentate since the societies founding inscribed in granite. It’s enduring history however lead to a problem that had to finally be addressed this year, the granite surface had been filled leaving no space for future Potentates. In need of a solution the Shriner’s reached out to a previous project partner, Nathan Carr of Willis A. Smith Construction for assistance. A plan was developed to provide a series of polished stainless steel panels etched through with the names and backed with bronze to maintain the classic feel of the plaza. Gulf Coast Signs was recruited for budgeting the project and to assist with prototype developments through the first six months and multiple revisions of the project and once approved set about bringing the final designs to fruition. To create the panels Gulf Coast Signs partnered with a stainless steel expert to have the twelve 316L Stainless Steel panels laser cut with the names and dates of all Imperial Potentates that were then chemically bonded to polyester clear coated metal background panels. These panels were then mounted with standoff hardware in pre-drilled holes with Hilti 200 adhesive. Upon completion this Spring the plaza now stands proudly honoring those who came before with room for many more to come.