- Credibility:
DOWNTOWN — The latest addition to Chicago’s Downtown skyline turned out to be far too bright to handle.
Salesforce, the San-Francisco based software firm, lit up its large logo this month atop Wolf Point Tower, a new 60-story building that sits where the Chicago River splits into its North and South branches.
It didn’t take long for blinded neighbors to weigh in, filing complaints and taking to Twitter to sound off on the sign’s intensity.
That caused Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) to intervene, getting the building to dial down the brightness and put it to bed at 11 p.m. every night.
Deputy Mayor Samir Mayekar tweeted about the sign going up on Jan. 11. Over the next several days, annoyed residents responded on Twitter about the overwhelming glare.
A photo from Twitter user Dusty Sheldon showed a beacon of bright, white light shining from the sign about a half-mile away. “Now how do we get the brightness turned down?” Sheldon asked. “This is an eyesore and public nuisance.”
Reilly’s office said the alderman asked for the sign be dimmed. That went into effect Wednesday night. Salesforce has also agreed to start shutting off the sign at 11 p.m., Reilly’s office confirmed.
Already the alderman has received confirmation from at least one resident saying the change was “much better,” but if complaints persist his office will circle back with Salesforce to request that it be dimmed even more, a spokesperson said Friday.
A Salesforce spokesperson said the light has been dimmed to 70 percent brightness between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m., reduced to 25 brightness from 5-11 p.m and shut off 11 p.m.- 5 a.m. each day.
City Council approved the sign in April 2022. It conforms with the city’s high-rise sign regulations, according to Peter Strazzabosco, deputy commissioner with the Department of Planning and Development.
“The City’s sign code does not regulate lumens but it does say signs can’t be a nuisance to nearby properties,” Strazzabosco wrote in a statement.
Because of this, Reilly typically requests that these types of signs be installed with dimmers, his spokesman said.
Strazzabosco confirmed Friday that Salesforce had turned down the sign’s brightness and agreed to a new “daily illumination schedule.”
Salesforce will be the anchor tenant of the tower at 343 W. Wolf Point Plaza. Before construction began, Salesforce in 2018 committed to hiring 1,000 employees by the end of 2023. They’ve since met that goal, although the company announced this month it will cut 8,000 employees and close some locations, according to the Tribune.
Salesforce is expected to move into Wolf Point this year, according to CoStar.
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