A slightly more pleasant Home Depot parking lot could be in Seven Corners' future

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Courtesy Fairfax County

Home Depot, in the background, will expand into vacant retail space off to the right of this photo in the Seven Corners shopping center near Falls Church.

Rebecca Cooper

Staff Reporter- Washington Business Journal

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The Seven Corners Home Depot parking lot may soon be a little less of a mess.

Home Depot plans to increase its store size by expanding into an adjacent, vacant retail space in the shopping center, which will allow it to bring plants and other seasonal items that usually stay in the store's parking lot into the interior of the store.

The home improvement store was forced to lease the additional space after Fairfax County cited Home Depot for a zoning violation for the parking lot merchandise display in 2013. The seasonal material in the parking area "created circulation and appearance concerns," according to a Fairfax County planning department staff report[PDF].

I don't know about appearance, but anyone who's tried to find a space at this Home Depot on a Saturday knows of the circulation issues. Angry suburban honking abounds. Separately, I always wondered if the rows of potted plants in the parking area caused a problem with theft, given their proximity to a would-be getaway car.

The expansion will free up the parking spots where the seasonal merchandise currently sits and allow the plants to be stored inside the garden center section of the existing store.

The total store would increase by approximately 55,000 square feet, bringing the Home Depot to more than 162,000 square feet.

The proposal will have to be approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, something that could happen Nov. 18 when Home Depot's application comes up for hearing. Planning and zoning staff recommend approval of the plan.

That means it's possible that by Christmas tree season, your trips to this Home Depot could be a little less harried.

Rebecca Cooper covers retail, restaurants, tourism and the arts.