Yates Corner Project Nearing Approval

The Yates Corner project, first detailed in , will go before City Council on Saturday.

The project, which includes a two-story, mixed-use structure, a new 7-Eleven and a circular plaza on the 400 block of E. Braddock Road, received approval from the Planning Commission earlier this month after building strong public support.

“We love this project,” Rosemont Citizens Association President Marguerite Lang said at the Planning Commission meeting. “We love the man behind this project.”

Jason Yates, owner of Yates Automotive, said he has spent more than decade working on the plan, which is an assemblage between his holding company and the Southland Corporation (owners of 7-Eleven) and included the purchase of a small piece of city-owned property.

“You have to take a chuck out because of the economy, probably five years,” said Duncan Blair, Yates’ attorney on the project. “Assemblages are very hard. This one has worked.”

The concept plan describes a mixed-use development for commercial use “consisting of a free-standing 3,000 square-foot 7-Eleven building on the east end of the site; an 18,000 square-foot two-story retail/office/auto service building on the west part of the site; and a two-level parking structure (one level below grade) behind the buildings with a small surface parking lot between the two buildings.”

The buildings will have visual coherence with other nearby buildings, including George Washington Middle School.

The first floor of two-story building will accommodate retail and restaurant uses, while the second floor will be office space. Yates plans on operating a green drycleaners in a portion of the first floor.

Yates Automotive currently uses part of the block for vehicle storage. Under the proposal, Yates will still store vehicles in the rear of the new two-story building.

Along with the two new structures, a “circular-shaped pedestrian plaza” with landscaping is proposed for the corner of Braddock Road and Mt. Vernon Avenue.

The plan came before the Del Ray Citizens Association in May. The DRCA moved to approve the project, but asked the city to look into the safety of a mid-block crossing on Braddock Road.

City staff moved a bus stop further east along the development in front of the new 7-Eleven to increase safety.

At the Planning Commission meeting, Leslie Zupan, president of the West Old Town Citizens Association, suggested that 7-Eleven be required to tag or stamp each container of alcohol sold form the store to monitor empty bottles in the neighborhood.

Michael Vanderpool, attorney for 7-Eleven, said his client would look into the feasibility of labeling bottles before Saturday's Council hearing.