Boch Center gets OK for new electronic billboard; says it will help save its community outreach programs

The Zoning Board of Appeal yesterday approved plans by the Boch Center and a billboard company for an electronic billboard on Stuart Street that the center's CEO says will provide enough lease income to help it continue its programs in the community.

The new billboard, around the corner from the center's Tremont Street entrance, will be turned off completely between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. and will have light sensors to reduce its brightness at night, according to Jake DellaValle, development director for Orange Barrel Media, which will install and run the sign.

The company also agreed with residents and city officials to not run any ads on the board for tobacco or marijuana or ads that have sexual or hate content.

New income from the sign is "a vital step in securing the future of the center," center CEO J. Casey Soward said.

Soward said the center is still recovering from the loss of income from being closed during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. It has high operating costs because of the age of its buildings and faces the loss of income because of competition from new entertainment venues in Boston and even the change of government in Washington.

Still, he said events at the Wang Theatre largely pay for themselves and that it's more the programs Boch runs outside the theater's walls that are most threatened by tightening finances, such as its neighborhood outreach and teen leadership programs.

"It's a legendary cultural institution that needs our support to continue serving the community," Orange Barrel's DellaValle said.

Billboards are allowed in the commercial district in which the theater sits, but only with a once-over by the zoning board. The specific sign also required a variance due to its size.

Nobody spoke against the proposal. Through an aide, City Councilor Ed Flynn (Chinatown, South Boston, South End, Downtown) supported the sign - with the provisos agreed to by Boch and Orange Barrel.