Yes! Organic Market of Capitol Hill has worked out a deal with landlord Stanton Development Corporation to remain in its 658 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE location with its original footprint while Stanton proceeds with plans to add 13,000 square feet of office space atop existing structures from Yes! back through the corner block of 7th Street SE and Pennsylvania Avenue SE, looping back to Montmartre on 7th Street SE, according to Yes! and Stanton.
Ken Golding, co-president of Stanton Development Corporation, said that Stanton wanted Yes! to remain. “Yes’s lease expired and they did not want to extend but opted to go month to month. We like them and want them to stay,” Golding said earlier this week, when rumors ran rampant.
Members of the community, devoted Yes! shoppers and otherwise, had been concerned this week as rumors started to spread that Yes! had lost its lease and would be moving out or shrinking its store. However, both tenant and landlord confirm that the market is staying in its current location. Details of the terms of the lease were not divulged, but The Hill is Home has been told that Yes! still has a lease although the terms of a longer lease that has expired. The hold-over provisions of the tenant-landlord agreement remain as the lease now goes month-to-month.
Permits for the wrap-around second-story office space addition are being finalized and have yet to be filed, according to Kitty Kaupp, co-president of Stanton Development Corp. Kaupp added that approval can take a year, however, Stanton will keep Yes! and other businesses in place during the construction. Kaupp also told The Hill is Home that Stanton has a good track record for not interrupting business while it builds and renovates. “We live here, too,” she said. Years back, Stanton and Kaupp installed Bread and Chocolate in the spot where a Kresge Five and Dime used to be, and where Le Pain Quotidien now dishes out tartines and hearty soups. Kaupp said that they proceeded to renovate the building with the tenants in place at a greater cost than keeping the storefront vacant.
As for the Hine site, which Stanton will be developing with Eastbanc, don’t look to videotape the wrecking ball anytime soon. The process is proceeding according to a timeline laid out in the RFP, with land-lease negotiations under way with the mayor’s office now, according to Kaupp. Then, of course, the R-4 area needs to be rezoned, which can take a year, permits need to be filed and approved, community meetings held, and the like. Still, the finished structure is due to be completed in 2014 as planned, Kaupp said. Stanton plans to have a website for the Hine development progress live by January 2010, or soon after.
Yes! will be open tomorrow from 7 am until 1 pm, in case you have forgotten some turkey extras, fresh cranberries, chocolate treats, gingerbread mix, or simply need to stock up on more wine, or beer.