Accounting for the new city of Aspen offices

The new city offices project has never factored in the market value of the land ($20 million) it’s developing nor the housing credits ($18 million) the city is using to satisfy the project’s affordable-housing mitigation. When you add these line items to the $49 million budget and the $1 million parking garage changes, the real cost to the community is around $88 million and growing — the building permit hasn’t even been pulled yet.

Plus we don’t even have an estimate for the up-charge to modify the building design to net zero or for making landscape improvements to Galena Plaza and the mountain to river pedestrian connection. It’s fascinating that we’ll have a taxpayer-funded project that will likely exceed $100 million that no one at City Hall, including the mayor, can explain the need for.

Peter Grenney

Aspen