YOUR AD HERE »

Stillwater attracts 5 bidders

Janet Urquhart
Aspen Times Staff Writer

Shaw Construction appears to be the low bidder among five general contractors that have submitted bids to build Pitkin County’s Stillwater affordable-housing complex.

Shaw, based in Grand Junction and Denver, submitted a bid of $4,320,719 to construct the 17-unit housing project. The condos will be divided among six buildings on four-plus acres along the Roaring Fork River, east of Aspen.

The lowest bid is slightly more than the $4.3 million anticipated price tag for the project, noted Jay Leavitt, director of development and construction for the Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority.



Other bidders include: Rudd Construction of Basalt, $4,881,330; Fenton Construction of Aspen, $5,155,782; Garrett Construction of Basalt, $5,313,136; and Mandron Construction/Pekkala Construction of Aspen, $5,348,835.

“Right now we’re analyzing the bids because they’re somewhat complicated,” Leavitt said. “We haven’t made any selections.”




Housing-office staffers are reviewing the costs contained in the bid proposals. “We want to make sure we’re comparing apples to apples,” he said.

The quality of each firm’s past work, the construction staff that would be assigned to the project and other factors will also be considered, according to Leavitt.

The list of contractors will probably be narrowed to two or three, and their proposals will receive close scrutiny before the housing office makes a recommendation to county commissioners, Leavitt said.

Shaw Construction is the general contractor for the ongoing expansion of Aspen’s Truscott Place housing complex. Fenton built the city’s Seventh and Main project, which was completed last year.

The $4.3 million preliminary budget for the project assumes a $2.3 million subsidy from the county, using funds that have been delivered by private developers as payment in lieu of constructing affordable housing, according to Leavitt.

The $2 million balance would be covered by the sale of the units to qualified local workers. The proposed mix of housing at Stillwater includes four one-bedroom units and 13 three-bedroom condos.

If all the units are priced at the Category 3 level, the county could more than recoup the projected $2 million it was counting on in sales revenue. Commissioners have not yet decided on the price of the units.

The maximum price of a Category 3 one-bedroom unit is currently $135,800; the three-bedroom units could go for as much as $185,200 if the commissioners decide to sell the units at Category 3 prices. Those prices would generate total sales of $2.9 million.

The county hopes to begin construction at Stillwater this summer. The project will take 12 to 14 months to build, according to Leavitt.

“We’re looking, hopefully, to have occupancy by the end of next year,” he said.

Stillwater is, however, the subject of a pending lawsuit filed by neighbors who object to the project.