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.
Join us Oct. 4th for an open house, guided tours, live music and more!
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: causal dining, community centerContinue reading
Identifying future programming use and remodel options for Aspen’s historic community asset
The Armory Reimagined: Respecting history, shaping the future.
Join us Oct. 4th for an open house, guided tours, live music and more!
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: causal 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 are expected to be presented at an open house held at the Armory on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The public is invited to gather at this space, formerly known as City Hall, to review preliminary concepts, ask questions of the design team, and provide input.
Guided tours through the building will provide history and an up-close perspective of the building’s potential and its constraints. There also will be live music and catered food. The City welcomes all who are interested in helping create a community gathering hub.
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.
Project OverviewThe 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 earmarked funding for the remodel of the Armory, however, decisions on future programming and the extent of the property’s remodel will affect the timeline and associated project costs.
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.
Aspenite's Stories About the Armory
The Armory has been a part of the Aspen community for a long time. In its life, it has had many visitors, hosted multitudes of meetings, witnessed historic events, and even been a source of personal memories. We would love to hear your tales about the building.
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We need to support locals
by SusanS, over 1 year agoAspen has very little opportunity for locals here to socialize and meet with freinds for an inexpensive dinner or lunch. If this is not addressed soon, then most of the workers will be leaving for a better quality of life---which I see already happening. This will also give visitors a chance to experience others options than fine dining every night
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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
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6-05-23 WorkSession FollowUp Memo.docx (2.56 MB) (docx)
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1_Council work session_Main Street cabin, OPH & Armory memo_6.5.23.docx (779 KB) (docx)
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2-06-23 WorkSession FollowUp Memo (002).docx (2.56 MB) (docx)
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02.06.2023 Memo to Council (16.4 MB) (pdf)
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05.13.2022 Memo to Council for May 16 Work Session (36.5 MB) (pdf)
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Refining Future Options Engagement Report | April 2022 (27.6 MB) (pdf)
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04.05.2022 Information Only Memo to Council (9.89 MB) (pdf)
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Community Values Engagement Report | February-March 2022 (2.85 MB) (pdf)
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The History of Aspen's Armory Hall (6.21 MB) (pdf)
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02.22.2022 Memo to Council for February 22 Regular Meeting (110 KB) (pdf)
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Resolution #023 - Series of 2022 - Resolution on City Buildings.pdf (116 KB) (pdf)
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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