Aspen's Armory Hall
Identifying future programming use and remodel options for Aspen’s historic community asset
The Armory Reimagined: Respecting history, shaping the future.
The City would like your input on the potential redevelopment of Aspen's Armory Hall and has added a survey to the bottom of this page. The results will be presented to City Council during a Nov. 13 work session.
As part of the process to redevelop Armory Hall, city staff has met with Aspen City Council seven times over the past year, with the most recent work session held on June 5, 2023. Council came to general agreement that mostContinue reading
Identifying future programming use and remodel options for Aspen’s historic community asset
The Armory Reimagined: Respecting history, shaping the future.
The City would like your input on the potential redevelopment of Aspen's Armory Hall and has added a survey to the bottom of this page. The results will be presented to City Council during a Nov. 13 work session.
As part of the process to redevelop Armory Hall, city staff has met with Aspen City Council seven times over the past year, with the most recent work session held on June 5, 2023. Council came to general agreement that most of the building should be a community use, with reference to the top results of community outreach that provided more specificity: casual dining, community center, multi-purpose space, non-profit services, and lower price point retail.
Council directed staff to proceed with the design process on the Armory so that a condensed timeline can be implemented.
City staff and consultants in the summer and fall of 2023 are conducting a “test fit,” which is part of concept planning to determine how much square footage is necessary for different types of uses.
Concepts and floor plans were presented at an open house held at the Armory on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. Over 200 people gathered in the space, formerly known as City Hall, to review preliminary concepts, ask questions of the design team, and provide input.
Guided tours through the building provided history and an up-close perspective of the building’s potential and its constraints.
More guided tours will be available onsite on Wednesday, Oct. 18, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The project’s current direction is based on extensive public outreach and community engagement, which included two online questionnaires, an open house, two focus group meetings and surveys. Staff heard overwhelmingly that the community needs a place to gather, that the Armory should be the heart of town, a community living room with the ability to eat, experience entertainment, shop or just hang out.
The remodel is estimated to cost $18-$23 million.
The RFP Process
The City of Aspen conducted a RFP process for the Armory Remodel and Reuse project. Below outlines how the RFP process works. Visit "The RFP Process" tab on the right hand side to see the submitted RFP's for this project, or click here.
Project Overview
The City of Aspen is currently updating its long-term plan for Armory Hall (The Armory), located at 130 South Galena Street. For many decades, the Armory served as Aspen’s City Hall, though many departments recently relocated to the new city hall facility at 427 Rio Grande Place. The facility is currently being used to house the utility billing and IT departments. As the City of Aspen organization prepares for the next phase of the Armory’s history, we are engaged in community discussions about the future possibilities for the building’s programming use and remodel options, as well as the strategies necessary to achieve proposed goals.
Project Information:
The Armory sits on a 6,000 sq. ft. lot in Aspen’s downtown Commercial Core Historic District, adjacent to Conner Park. It is located within the Public zone district and is designated as a historic resource. The City has allocated money for planning the redesign of the project. Next steps will be to determine funding options to undertake the remodel.
The City recognizes the importance of community use as an element of future programming and remodel options. In 2015, the city initiated an advisory ballot question to gauge the electorate’s preference for the Armory site as a future community use or city offices; the community use narrowly passed. Once again in 2018, the election cycle included a ballot question presenting two locations for a new city hall; the results confirmed a preference for the Rio Grande/Galena Plaza site with a 57 to 43 percent margin.
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CLOSED: This survey has concluded.123 responses
This questionnaire was posed to community members in 2022. It was designed to confirm the community’s preferred programming uses for the Armory. It also explored ideas around interior aesthetics, space considerations, funding and future operational support. The City treated this as a feedback form, not a statistically valid survey. Over 120 responses were recorded and that information helped inform the preferred programming and remodeling recommendations that Aspen City Council is currently considering.
Look for an updated survey in the fall of 2023.
Share Refining Future Options Questionnaire on Facebook Share Refining Future Options Questionnaire on Twitter Share Refining Future Options Questionnaire on Linkedin Email Refining Future Options Questionnaire link -
CLOSED: This survey has concluded.
What is your idea of community use and access? How do you prioritize community values around environmental and financial sustainability, small town character and historic context, community needs and programming opportunities?
We want to hear more from you on these topics as the City develops a long-term strategy for the remodel and future programming use of Armory Hall (Armory), located at 130 South Galena Street. Built in 1891, the Armory has a long, rich history in the City of Aspen and we now have an opportunity to explore what its future story will be.We invite you to take this short questionnaire (approx. 12 minutes) to share your thoughts with us about your values and priorities as the City seeks to balance needs and preferences with funding and logistics. Information gathered here will be shared with City Council to help inform the decisions made around programming and remodeling options at the Armory.
This survey will close on Friday, March 18, 2022, at 11:59 p.m.Share Community Values Questionnaire on Facebook Share Community Values Questionnaire on Twitter Share Community Values Questionnaire on Linkedin Email Community Values Questionnaire link
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The RFP Process
Key Dates
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November 13 2023
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October 04 2023
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June 05 2023
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February 06 2023
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May 16 2022
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April 14 2022
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April 13 2022
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April 12 2022
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April 06 → April 24 2022
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April 01 2022
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February 23 → March 18 2022
Project Life Cycle
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Define the Issue & Provide Background Information
Aspen's Armory Hall has finished this stageJanuary 1-February 23, 2022
- Research project history, constraints, opportunities
- Provide an overview and seek City Council direction at the Monday, February 7 Work Session
- Ensure the community has a thorough understanding of the situation and issues involved with the property
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Collect Community Input on Values & Use Options
Aspen's Armory Hall has finished this stageFebruary 23-March 18, 2022
- Facilitate a variety of opportunities to share information, outline the options and receive and consider community feedback and idea
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Evaluate Input & Identify Preferred Options
Aspen's Armory Hall has finished this stageMarch 19-April 5, 2022
- Evaluate all ideas and feedback to identify preferred options for further research and consideration
- Present transparent process of consideration of all feedback from community stakeholders, City Council and subject experts
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Collect Community Input to Refine Options
Aspen's Armory Hall has finished this stageApril 6-24, 2022
- Solicit final community feedback on preferred options prior to seeking consideration and approval
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Evaluate Input and Refine Recommendation
Aspen's Armory Hall has finished this stageApril 25-May 8, 2022
- Evaluate all ideas and feedback to refine preferred option for recommendation
- Present transparent process of consideration of all feedback from community stakeholders, City Council and subject experts
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Finalize Preferred Option Plan
Aspen's Armory Hall has finished this stageMay 9-16, 2022
- Prepare the preferred option for review and consideration of City Council approval
- Share the plan with the community, including clear communication about the decisions and rationale as well as how community input was considered and incorporated
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Implementation of the Preferred Option
Aspen's Armory Hall has finished this stageMay-December 2022
- Outline the implementation strategy and next steps
- Evaluate process to capture successes and areas for improvement
- Continue to evaluate plans shifts for alignment with any future shifts such as construction costs
- Update community stakeholders on project process
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Feb.-Nov. 2023
Aspen's Armory Hall is currently at this stage- Council reviews preferred options based on public feedback. Options identified are causal dining, community center, multi-purpose space, non-profit services, and lower price point retail.
- Council prioritizes Armory as an essential project.
- Design team conducts "fit test" to determine how much square footage is necessary for different types of uses.
- Open house scheduled for Oct. 4 to collect future public input.
- Council to meet Nov. 13, 2023 to provide direction on next steps.
Documents
- 6-05-23 WorkSession FollowUp Memo.docx (2.56 MB) (docx)
- 1_Council work session_Main Street cabin, OPH & Armory memo_6.5.23.docx (779 KB) (docx)
- 2-06-23 WorkSession FollowUp Memo (002).docx (2.56 MB) (docx)
- 02.06.2023 Memo to Council (16.4 MB) (pdf)
- 05.13.2022 Memo to Council for May 16 Work Session (36.5 MB) (pdf)
- Refining Future Options Engagement Report | April 2022 (27.6 MB) (pdf)
- 04.05.2022 Information Only Memo to Council (9.89 MB) (pdf)
- Community Values Engagement Report | February-March 2022 (2.85 MB) (pdf)
- The History of Aspen's Armory Hall (6.21 MB) (pdf)
- History assembled by AHS.pdf (3.77 MB) (pdf)
- 02.22.2022 Memo to Council for February 22 Regular Meeting (110 KB) (pdf)
- Resolution #023 - Series of 2022 - Resolution on City Buildings.pdf (116 KB) (pdf)
- 02.07.2022 Memo to Council for February 7 Work Session
Who's Listening
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Phone 9703192791 Email Carolyn.sackariason@aspen.gov