After sitting vacant for years, the southwest corner of 7th Avenue and Dunlap will be developed as a Dunkin drive-through (photo by Kathryn M. Miller).
At a Dec. 1 Zoning Adjusting hearing, several zoning variance requests were approved that will facilitate a new Dunkin drive-through location at 701 W. Dunlap Ave.
Located on the southwest corner of 7th and Dunlap avenues, the property has been sitting vacant for many years. It is also directly across 7th Avenue from BlackRock Coffee Bar and less than a block away from locally owned Cultivate Coffee.
The existing building, a defunct gas station, and its canopy will be demolished, and the underground fuel tanks will be removed to make way for new ground-up construction of a 1,090 square-foot coffee and donut shop (Dunkin) with a drive-through lane operation, a walk-up window and small outdoor dining area. There will be no indoor dining or public restroom.
In addressing the concerns of the 7th Avenue Estates Homeowners Association regarding potential light pollution, Paul Faust, vice president of operations for Dunkin in Phoenix, stated that typical hours for this type of location are generally opening between 4:30-5:30 a.m. closing between 8-9 p.m. Given that the property is bordered by commercial buildings, the impact was considered negligible. Other concerns addressed were length of drive-through lanes, which the Dunkin representative said met the standard of their other locations, and potential noise from the positioning of the ordering box.
The Zoning Hearing Officer approved the requests of the owner, Atlas BL Dunlap, LLC, with stipulations, among them that a west and south wall will be built at a continuous height of six feet to act as a noise buffer. The owners will have 18 months to pull construction permits.
