National convenience store chain 7-Eleven expects to break ground next month on a retail complex at the former Cosmic Coffee site at Northeast 112th Avenue off state Highway 500.
The area’s high-volume traffic and dense residential neighborhoods created attractive business conditions for the Dallas-based quick-store chain, said Mike Jenkins, of MAJ Development Corp. in Vancouver.
The store, which will be corporately owned instead of franchised, will be part of a $1.8 million two-building project Jenkins is developing called Springbrook Station.
“They (7-Eleven) want to expand by 3,000 stores this year,” Jenkins said.
He said crews from general contractor Team Construction will tear down the boarded up Cosmic Coffee structure in February. The 1.5-acre site is on the northeast corner of 112th Avenue and Northeast 51st Circle.
The 7-Eleven store will take up 3,000 square feet of the first 5,200 square-foot building and the remaining 2,200 square feet will be leased to a cell phone store.
No tenant has been announced for the second building, planned to develop into a bank branch or fast-food restaurant with drive-through lanes.
Jenkins expects the 7-Eleven store to open this summer. It will operate 24 hours a day and employ between eight and 10 people. “We’ll be turning it over to 7-Eleven in June,” he said.
The company operates at least eight stores in Clark County. It also operates, franchises and licenses more than 6,840 stores in North America, part of its more than 28,900 stores in 14 countries.
by Cami Joner
The Columbian – January 27, 2010