Jacob Bell
New Member
Aspen L.E.A.F. is moving out of its current location at 100 S. Spring St., partly because of the landlord's opinion that the medical marijuana dispensary is affecting the marketability of the building.
L.E.A.F. is one of four pot shops in the city's core. The business moved into the building in 2009 and signed a two-year lease, which is due to expire this month.
L.E.A.F. owner Billy Miller and his landlord Neil Ross had multiple discussions over the past year about whether or not the lease would be renewed, Miller said.
"It was kind of a mutual decision," said Miller. "When he and I talked about me being in here, he said we might have driven away some investors."
When Miller originally signed the lease for the space, Ross told him that the building was on the market and the dispensary might have to move based on whether or not a new owner would want the dispensary as a tenant, Miller said. The building has been for sale for at least two years, he added.
Miller could not say definitively whether or not he thought his business had an impact on other potential renters, but he doubted it, he said.
"I'm back and forth on it," he said. "But I've seen for-rent signs up [on the building] pretty much all of my life."
Ross would not comment.
Since Miller and Ross decided to end the lease, Miller has had some difficulty getting landlords in Aspen to commit space to his shop, because certain banks won't finance buildings that house medical marijuana dispensaries, he said.
"I've had a few landlords call me excited about the shop and then call back later saying they can't do it because their bank won't continue financing them if I move in," he said.
The issue reflects the currently unsettled contradiction between state and federal law on the legality of medical marijuana.
Karen Setterfield, a commercial broker for Setterfield and Bright who represents more than half of the vacant space in Aspen's core, said most commercial space isn't available to dispensaries. She receives calls frequently from dispensary owners inquiring about space, Setterfield said.
"Most of the landlords that I work with either don't want [dispensaries] in the building or their tenants don't want it," Setterfield said.
Even so, Miller has secured a new home for L.E.A.F. in the commercial space below Johnny McGuire's sandwich shop on Cooper Avenue.
The space is less per month and has higher foot-traffic, both of which were factors from the dispensary's point of view for ending its current lease, Miller said.
The question of the effects of dispensaries on neighboring businesses was raised last year when a clothing store broke its lease in the Fat City Plaza on Cooper Avenue because manager Kimberly Wilson said she could not operate her shop next door to a burger grill and a marijuana dispensary.
Fat City building manager Peter Fornell discredited Wilson's statement saying that she was just using the dispensary as an excuse to get out of her lease. The case has since been settled out of court.
Dispensary Silverpeak Apothecary was the first to sign a lease in Fat City Plaza, Fornell said, and as far as he's experienced, it has not deterred anyone from leasing space.
For some businesses, like the burger joint 520 Grill that opened last year, being located near a dispensary is an asset, Fornell added.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: aspendailynews.com
Author: Dorothy M. Atkins
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Aspen Daily News
Website: Building's listing endangers pot shop
L.E.A.F. is one of four pot shops in the city's core. The business moved into the building in 2009 and signed a two-year lease, which is due to expire this month.
L.E.A.F. owner Billy Miller and his landlord Neil Ross had multiple discussions over the past year about whether or not the lease would be renewed, Miller said.
"It was kind of a mutual decision," said Miller. "When he and I talked about me being in here, he said we might have driven away some investors."
When Miller originally signed the lease for the space, Ross told him that the building was on the market and the dispensary might have to move based on whether or not a new owner would want the dispensary as a tenant, Miller said. The building has been for sale for at least two years, he added.
Miller could not say definitively whether or not he thought his business had an impact on other potential renters, but he doubted it, he said.
"I'm back and forth on it," he said. "But I've seen for-rent signs up [on the building] pretty much all of my life."
Ross would not comment.
Since Miller and Ross decided to end the lease, Miller has had some difficulty getting landlords in Aspen to commit space to his shop, because certain banks won't finance buildings that house medical marijuana dispensaries, he said.
"I've had a few landlords call me excited about the shop and then call back later saying they can't do it because their bank won't continue financing them if I move in," he said.
The issue reflects the currently unsettled contradiction between state and federal law on the legality of medical marijuana.
Karen Setterfield, a commercial broker for Setterfield and Bright who represents more than half of the vacant space in Aspen's core, said most commercial space isn't available to dispensaries. She receives calls frequently from dispensary owners inquiring about space, Setterfield said.
"Most of the landlords that I work with either don't want [dispensaries] in the building or their tenants don't want it," Setterfield said.
Even so, Miller has secured a new home for L.E.A.F. in the commercial space below Johnny McGuire's sandwich shop on Cooper Avenue.
The space is less per month and has higher foot-traffic, both of which were factors from the dispensary's point of view for ending its current lease, Miller said.
The question of the effects of dispensaries on neighboring businesses was raised last year when a clothing store broke its lease in the Fat City Plaza on Cooper Avenue because manager Kimberly Wilson said she could not operate her shop next door to a burger grill and a marijuana dispensary.
Fat City building manager Peter Fornell discredited Wilson's statement saying that she was just using the dispensary as an excuse to get out of her lease. The case has since been settled out of court.
Dispensary Silverpeak Apothecary was the first to sign a lease in Fat City Plaza, Fornell said, and as far as he's experienced, it has not deterred anyone from leasing space.
For some businesses, like the burger joint 520 Grill that opened last year, being located near a dispensary is an asset, Fornell added.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: aspendailynews.com
Author: Dorothy M. Atkins
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Aspen Daily News
Website: Building's listing endangers pot shop
