The next step has been taken in development of what is expected to be the largest affordable housing project in the history of Aspen, Colorado.
What is being officially called the Aspen Lumberyard project will see the building of 277 affordable homes built within an 11-acre pedestrian-friendly village setting off Colorado State Highway 82, near the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport.
The project, which has been long in the talking and planning stage and the subject of a number of public input meetings, places an emphasis on green space, tree-lined sidewalks, and bike paths.
That emphasis allows the project to align with a climate action plan adopted by the City of Aspen in 2017, which has a stated goal of reducing emissions in the city by upwards of 80% in the next three decades.
In a posting discussing the project, Randy Rhoads, the executive director of affordable housing for Cushing Terrell, the planning firm working on the Lumberyard site, said the project’s sustainability emphasis illustrates that it is “possible to achieve these ambitious goals in affordable housing,” while creating “a path to follow for other projects.”
Expected to cost around $450 million to build, the Lumberyard project will feature one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. Those units will be housed in three separate buildings. The buildings will additionally feature balconies and ground-level front stoops.
Members of the Aspen City Council have now given their approval to a measure designed to attract a developer and partner to help get the project built.
The project is especially geared for working wage residents living in Aspen who cannot afford the city’s rents: according to a recent Zumper site survey, the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the west central Colorado city is now at around $7,000.
By Garry Boulard
