City council hoping to extend ‘I in Kingston’ sign project

Thousands of people have been posing as the ‘I in Kingston’ since the spring and now the group behind the scene is looking at making it a permanent downtown attraction.

The ‘I in Kingston’ sign was an instant hit from the moment it was unveiled in June across the street from city hall. Now city council is being asked by the Kingston Accommodation Partners to extend the project for one year, if not more.

Matt Fry is the General Manager of K.A.P. and says they’ve tracked almost half a million online impressions generated by the sign in less than four months.

“We thought it would definitely be an attraction — but how busy it is, how consistently busy it has been — and again from visitors and residents alike. That’s the pleasant surprise.”

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According to Kingston Accommodation Partners, the sign, installed in late June, wasn’t designed and built to be permanent.

“The initial investment was about $30,000 and then if we were looking to make that permanent we’d be looking at doubling that expense.”

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Fry says the additional cost would cover materials that would better handle the elements over a prolonged period of time.