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Letter: New Aspen City Hall coming to town

Santa’s coming early for the city of Aspen. Total price tag: approximately $37.6 million. There are three parts to Santa’s gift. The first two parts are expected to be approved before the city’s land-use moratorium expires Feb. 28.

Parts one and two will be on display in the Wheeler lobby from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, with city staff taking comments.

Part one is a 29,000-square-foot new proposed city of Aspen office space and meeting hall building (approximately $20 million) proposed to be built one story above Galena Plaza in the space where the Visitor Center and parking lots currently are between Galena Plaza and Rio Grande Place.



The second part is a remodel of the Rio Grande Building where the Parking Department and the locally serving, locally owned, locally affordable Taster’s (aka The Grill) has served the local and resort communities for over a decade. Will Taster’s stay or go? It is undecided at this time if Taster’s is going to be kicked out.

Part three is the remodel of the Armory Building to be undertaken sometime later.




Better hurry to get your comments to city staff on Dec. 13 in the Wheeler lobby, as the first Planning and Zoning meeting for approval of City Hall’s new office spaces is only 21 days later on Jan. 3.

The second Planning and Zoning meeting is Jan. 17. Then Santa, a.k.a. Aspen City Council, will be looking at granting final approval for City Hall’s new office space building and meeting hall and a remodeled Rio Grande Building scheduled tentatively on Feb. 13.

Hopefully the city will put up story poles on Galena Plaza and Rio Grande show the width and height of the proposed new Galena Plaza City Hall office spaces’ building, and will schedule public walking tours (site visit) of Galena Plaza and Rio Grande Park so that Santa and his reindeer can merrily Ho, ho, ho! Happy holidays.

Toni Kronberg

Aspen