court decision may determine aspen city office project

Even though it is a city with a population of just over 6,800 people, Aspen’s administrative needs have grown to the point where it requires expanded space for its offices.

Last year, the Aspen City Council approved a two-pronged project that will see the upgrading of the current City Hall, located inside the 1890s Armory Building at Galena Street and E. Hopkins Avenue.

A second part of the project called for expanding an existing one-story structure that until last fall was the home to the Aspen Chamber Resort Association.

According to plans, work on that building at 425 Rio Grande Place in downtown Aspen would see the creation of up to 15,000 square feet of office space, 15,000 square feet of lobby and storage space, and another 3,900 square feet of meeting room space.

Altogether, the project is expected to cost around $22 million to complete.

But a timeline for the renovated and expanded space has been complicated by a citizen-initiated lawsuit that says the project should have been decided through a voter’s referendum.

In January, Ninth Judicial District Court Judge John Neiley ruled in favor of the lawsuit. But the Judge has since said he is open to reconsidering the City of Aspen’s argument that the approval of the project was a legislative matter not subject to a referendum.

Neiley is expected to make a final ruling on the matter within the month.

By Garry Boulard