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Letter: Face the facts and fix the problem

Basalt’s better than that

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the meeting/hearing regarding the request for a hotel on the Willits property adjacent to Whole Foods. So, I’m working from the article in Wednesday’s Aspen Times — “Willts hotel needs to clear two hurdles.” I’m confident that our Town Council members and the Planning and Zoning committee will represent the best interest of our community when it comes to the issues surrounding the request for parking and affordable housing mitigation.

What was not mentioned, at least in the article, was the visual impact of this, pardon the expression, “less than imaginative” design of the rendering pictured of the proposed hotel in the paper. It appears as close to my perception of an Eastern European housing project before the fall of the Wall as anything I could imagine.



Is it not time to hold the developers accountable for blending the elements of “the Center” with the surrounding properties and not just getting as much concrete/leasable/rentable space as possible? If we were to compare what we have, so far, in this commercial development to, say, the shopping mall in Edwards, it would be embarrassing (my opinion).

Yes, we’re thrilled with the success of “the Center” and for the successes of our shops and restaurants and for the resources that are coming into the mid valley and for the success of the developer! But Basalt deserves better! I would hope that those who represent us would not shy away from a serious discussion with the developers regarding the creative responsibilities that come with this “gift.”




Steve Chase

Basalt