Plans for a medical cannabis dispensary in Van Ness have been a source of bewilderment for the owner and employees of the proposed location’s current tenant, Pill Plus Pharmacy.
According to pharmacist Sam Miller, Pill Plus owner Dr. Luc Yaya did not know about the proposed dispensary until July 22nd, when an ABRA agent showed up to place a placard in the window of the store at 4215 Connecticut Avenue. Miller told Forest Hills Connection that they initially thought it must be a mistake, and that the dispensary was to instead occupy a space at another Douglas Development property next door, 4221 Connecticut. Because they thought it was an error, and because customers were confused and thought that Pill Plus would be operating the dispensary, Yaya asked Miller to take the placard down.
They did not know that their landlord had offered their storefront to Uxolo LLC. Also confusing was the fact that Pill Plus has a ten-year lease on the first floor storefront that is valid until October 2028.
Pill Plus was opened by Raymonda Kondos in 2020. Shaken by an armed robbery at the store in November 2021, Kondos sold a majority stake to Yaya earlier this year. Documents provided by Pill Plus show that Yaya signed the lease transfer agreement in June, and that he has been paying the lease in full ever since. But nearly two months later, Douglas Development had yet to sign and return the agreement.
The names of Norman and Matthew Jemal, the owners of Douglas Development, are on the leasing documents. They have not responded to repeated requests for information and comment, one of which was on Thursday, August 11th. Later that day, Yaya, through Van Ness Main Street, said he had received the countersigned lease transfer agreement from the landlord.
The lease dispute came to light in our reporting of the proposed dispensary. Uxolo President Sulee Clay told Forest Hills Connection that Douglas had told her team that the space may be coming available. Clay said she had only recently been made aware of the dispute.
ABRA scores the dispensary applicants, in part, on the suitability of their chosen location, and requires that they submit either a signed lease or a letter of intent. Jared Powell, the chief of staff at ABRA, told Forest Hills Connection that Uxolo submitted a letter of intent signed by both the tenant and the landlord for the proposed address.
Green Eyeshades says
ANC 3F held a special meeting on August 18, 2022 focused exclusively on this proposed dispensary. The video of the August 18 special meeting was posted by ANC 3F at this link:
https://youtu.be/vsRuVc0my2Q