Aspen voters support Lumberyard debt question with first votes tallied
The $70 million debt would constitute a portion of the total expected cost of the project
Editor’s note: The Aspen Times will continue to update vote tallies as results are counted.
As of 9:30 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4, initial vote counts showed supported for Aspen’s proposed Lumberyard affordable housing tax question. With 36.05% of the total vote counted, 1,148 Aspen voters, or 59.48% of the current count, supported Aspen Ballot Issue 2B, while 782 voters, or 40.52% of the count, opposed the question.
Through ballot issue 2B: Debt for Lumberyard Affordable Housing Project, the city of Aspen asked voters if it could go into $70 million in debt to help finance a 277-unit proposed affordable housing project, termed Lumberyard, to be located across Colorado Highway 82 from the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport.
Aspen Mayor Rachael Richards thanked Aspen City Council members and all those who worked diligently to get the issue on the ballot and noted that the turnout in support of the issue so far is encouraging.
“For me, it’s highly encouraging that it’s trending in this direction, and it’s really exciting for the city’s ability to start really addressing the housing crisis now,” Richards said. “I see Lumberyard housing as crucial to supporting our local businesses in the off season, to allowing friends and coworkers who’ve been forced out of town to potentially move back, to recruit new, more specialized workers as necessary in a community to bring new people in.”
The city predicted the Lumberyard affordable housing project would cost a total of $250 million, and estimated construction would be completed by Dec. 31, 2030, according to the 2026 Proposed Budget – Capital Improvement Plan. Aspen predicted that construction for the project could begin this coming year.
The debt would be issued in “municipal revenue bonds or other multiple fiscal year financial obligation, with such terms, and bearing interest at a rate hereafter approved by council,” according to the ballot.
The city is limited to about a $152.5 million debt repayment to afford the project, and a maximum annual repayment of $6.5 million.
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.
