Plaza and strip mall signage usually comes down to four types: a pylon or monument sign at the road, building signs over each storefront, tenant panels on the shared sign, and directional or address signs. The landlord usually owns the structure, and tenants usually pay for their own signs.
What Is a Plaza Sign?
A plaza sign identifies a shopping center or the businesses inside it. Most plazas use four main types, each serving a different purpose.
Pylon signs: Tall, pole-mounted signs that make a center visible from a fast road. Most carry the center's name at the top and tenant panels below.
Monument signs: Low signs on a solid base at the entrance. They suit slower roads and cities that require ground-level signs.
Building signs: Channel letters or fascia signs over each storefront. Tenants usually order these for their own space.
Tenant panels: Replaceable faces set into the shared pylon or monument cabinet. Tenants who get a panel appear on one sign, so the whole center reads at a glance.
Directional, address, and ADA signs fill in the rest. As a Metro Detroit sign company, we handle all of these for plaza owners and tenants.
Who Pays for and Owns Each Sign, the Landlord or the Tenant?
Most often, the landlord owns and pays for the shared structure, and each tenant pays for its own sign or panel. Your lease and the center's sign criteria will determine this.
| Sign | Usually owned by | Usually paid for by | Usually approved by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pylon or monument structure | Landlord | Landlord | City |
| Tenant panel on that sign | Tenant owns the panel, landlord owns the cabinet | Tenant | Landlord first, then city |
| Building sign over a storefront | Tenant | Tenant | Landlord first, then city |
| Center name, directional and address signs | Landlord | Landlord | City |
A few patterns show up in most plazas:
- The landlord decides which tenants appear on the pylon or monument and where. The anchor tenant usually gets the top panel.
- Tenants usually pay to make, install, and maintain their own signs. The center removes signs that don't meet its criteria at the tenant's expense.
- Landlords often require sign contractors to carry insurance that names the landlord as an additional insured.
Check your lease: If you're a tenant, look for sign rights before you sign. A panel on the pylon isn't automatic.
What Is a Tenant Panel, and How Is It Replaced?
A tenant panel is a replaceable face set into a multi-tenant pylon or monument sign, the kind you see on most strip mall signs. It carries one business's name and logo, and it's built to fit a fixed opening in the sign cabinet. Swapping one is quicker than building a new sign, but the steps still matter.
- Check your lease and the sign criteria: They set the size, colors, copy height, and who pays.
- Measure the opening: The new panel has to fit the existing frame and retainers exactly.
- Get landlord approval: Submit the artwork before fabricating anything.
- Fabricate the panel: Common choices are routed aluminum backed with acrylic, or polycarbonate, matched to the panels already on the sign.
- File a permit if your city requires one: See the permit section below.
- Remove the old panel and install the new one: Loose or shifted panels are a common service issue, so check the neighbors while the cabinet is open.
Ask the landlord for the cabinet drawings or opening dimensions before you design, and order the panel only after approval.
Pylon or Monument Sign for a Shopping Center?
It depends on the road and your city. A pylon works on fast, wide roads where drivers need to spot a center from far away. A monument fits slower roads, entrances, and cities that require ground-level signs, like Novi, where ground signs need a monument base with no exposed posts.
Shopping plaza signs often use one of each. A monument usually holds fewer tenant names, so busy centers often put the pylon at the main entrance and monuments at the secondary ones. For the full comparison, see our guide to what a pylon sign is, or browse our monument signs.
What Do Plaza Signs Cost?
Plaza sign costs depend on the type, size, lighting, and how many tenants the sign carries. These are pricing ranges for installed signs:
- Single-tenant illuminated monument sign: $10,000 to $30,000.
- Multi-tenant monument sign: $10,000 to $75,000 or more, because of tenant panels, changeable faces, and lighting.
- Pylon sign: $10,000 to $100,000 or more.
- Illuminated channel letters over a tenant space: $3,000 to $20,000, with $4,000 to $12,000 typical for a single storefront.
- Tenant panel: priced by size, material, and lighting. Because it's fabricated to fit an existing opening, it costs far less than a new sign. Ask for a quote with your measurements.
Permits, engineering, and foundation work add to structure costs, so ask for an itemized quote. If you own the center, plan the structure and the first set of panels together. Replacing one panel later costs far less than rebuilding the cabinet. See our guide to what business signs cost in Michigan, and our custom building signs page for related projects.
Do You Need a Permit to Change a Tenant Panel?
Often yes, but it depends on your city. Some cities treat a panel swap as a "face change" permit, and some exempt tenant panels on an approved sign as long as they meet the criteria. Landlord approval comes first either way.
Novi: Any sign over one square foot needs a sign permit, and the city has handled ground-sign face changes through permit applications. Illuminated signs need an electrical permit.
Detroit: You need a permit before installing a sign that advertises a business, with some exemptions for size and type. Only a sign professional with a current City of Detroit sign license can apply, and each sign needs its own application.
Build the permit step into your schedule, since city review can add weeks. Ask your city before you order a panel, so you don't pay for one it won't approve.
How Do You Keep Every Tenant's Sign Consistent?
Consistent strip mall signage starts with written rules, enforced the same way for every tenant. A sign criteria document, sometimes called a master sign program, does this, and some cities allow a comprehensive sign plan for the same purpose. These are the items it should cover:
- Panel size and material: Pick one standard so every face fits and ages the same way.
- Copy height and logo size: Cap letter height and the share of the panel a logo can fill.
- Colors and finish: Set the palette, or let tenants choose within a range the landlord approves.
- Lighting: Decide whether signs are lit, and put them on the landlord's timer so they switch on and off together.
- Mounting and placement: Center signs on the fascia or sign band, and set mounting heights.
- Replacement and removal: Spell out who removes an old sign, who patches the wall, and how fast.
Using one sign company to fabricate every panel also helps. The colors, edges, and finishes match because they come from the same shop.
How Do We Handle Plaza Signs in the Detroit Metro Area?
We handle plaza signs from the first measurement to the final install, with one point of contact for owners and tenants.
1. Survey: We measure the sign, the panel openings, and the storefronts, and photograph the site.
2. Design: We design to your sign criteria and match the colors on existing panels.
3. Approval: We prepare the drawings your landlord or property manager needs to sign off on.
4. Permits: We file the application. In Detroit, only a licensed sign professional can apply, so we coordinate with a licensed filer.
5. Fabrication: We build the panels, letters, or structures, mostly in-house.
6. Installation: Our installation team puts it up, with a licensed electrician on lit signs.
For questions to ask any sign company before you hire, see our hiring checklist.
Plaza Sign FAQ
Who pays for and owns each plaza sign?
The landlord usually owns and pays for the pylon or monument structure. Tenants usually pay for their own building signs and tenant panels, and landlords control where panels go. Your lease and the center's sign criteria decide, so check them before ordering anything.
What is a tenant panel, and how is it replaced?
A tenant panel is a replaceable face in a shared pylon or monument sign that carries one business's name. To replace one, check your lease, measure the opening, get landlord approval, fabricate a matching panel, file a permit if your city requires it, then remove the old panel and install the new one.
Do you need a permit to change a tenant panel?
Often, but it depends on your city. Some cities require a face-change permit, and others exempt tenant panels on an approved sign. In Novi, signs over one square foot need a permit, and only a licensed sign professional can apply in Detroit. Get landlord approval first.
What do plaza signs cost?
Multi-tenant monument signs run $10,000 to $75,000 or more, and installed pylon signs run $10,000 to $100,000 or more. Illuminated channel letters over a tenant space run $3,000 to $20,000. Tenant panels cost far less than new signs and are priced by size, material, and lighting.