Aspen Lumberyard Affordable Housing
INITIAL PHASE OF CONSTRUCTION HAS STARTED!
CURRENT CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY
November 12, 2024: Aspen City Council approved(External link) a $3 million contract with Gould Construction for the Lumberyard Affordable Housing development.
Phase 0.1 Abatement and Demolition (through Spring 2025): This phase includes abating asbestos-containing materials and demolishing 11 commercial buildings at the former Builders First Source and Aspen Mini Storage sites.
Environmental Certification: The project aims for a minimum of 75% waste diversion to satisfy the Enterprise Green Communities(External link) sustainability certification program, and may reach >90% using the Pitkin County Solid Waste Center's Sustainable Sites Diversion Program(External link).
Recycling Operations: Includes crushing asphalt and concrete for recycling, sounds fences being installed to minimize disturbance.
Limited Environmental Cleanup: Excavating known areas of lead-containing soil and hauling off to an appropriate accepting facility.
UPCOMING PROJECT ACTIVITY
Early 2025: Aspen may approve a follow-on construction contract for Phase 0.2 Site Grading and Infrastructure for new utilities and roads. Construction planned to continue through 2026 to prepare the site for the construction of affordable housing facilities.
Early 2025: Aspen plans to select a private developer for a public-private partnership to design, build, finance, and operate the affordable housing facilities. The vertical phases (Phases 1, 2, and 3) involve constructing three four-story buildings with about 100 units each.
2026: Construction for Phases 1, 2, and 3 is planned to begin. The developer also handles tenant qualification, leasing, operation, and maintenance during their long-term contract. Aspen keeps land ownership and can buy out facilities at contract end.
Use the links in the sidebar to the right for additional details and stay tuned for future project updates!
LUMBERYARD AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROJECT BACKGROUND
In response to the urgent need for affordable housing in the Aspen area, Aspen’s Lumberyard Affordable Housing development project has been approved to include between 277 and 304 affordable housing units in three four-story buildings, along with communal landscapes, infrastructure and transportation improvements.
The Lumberyard project is approved to be 100% affordable housing, for the purpose of housing local workforce who will be required to qualify within the income and asset regulations of the Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority (APCHA).
LAND USE REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS
The land use review and approval process with Aspen City Council began with first reading of Ordinance 10 of 2023 in May of 2023, and project entitlements were ultimately approved(External link) by Aspen City Council on September 19, 2023.
Approved Project Dimensions
Approved Site Plan
Approved Vertical Dimensions
COMMUNITY VETTED DESIGN
The City owned about a quarter of the Lumberyard property from the late 1990s, and additionally purchased a large portion of the project site in 2008. The final piece of land was added in 2020 to assemble the 11-acre site just south of the Aspen Airport Business Center.
Leading up to the formal land use review and approval process in 2023, Aspen City Council directed a community-based design process for the project which occurred from 2019 through 2022. Extensive community engagement helped establish that Aspen should plan for a range of about 300 units, with a variety of unit types and a broad mix of demographics.
The community heavily favored a sustainability certification for the project, and neighboring stakeholders asked not to make nearby parking challenges worse by under-parking the new housing development. And since affordable childcare is also a significant community need, space was also set aside on site for a future early childhood education center.
INCLUSIVE, CONNECTED, SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBORHOOD
The project is designed for 100% accessibility to all units on all levels of each building, with enhanced pedestrian access, tree lined streets and exterior access for all ground floor units.
Located just over three miles from downtown Aspen along the primary transportation corridor which serves as Aspen’s entrance, the project will include convenient access to multi-modal transportation with new, dedicated, fare-free transit service to downtown Aspen on 30-minute intervals, along with bike-share facilities. The project will also provide convenient access and improvements to existing multi-use trails that provide valuable neighborhood interconnection.
By housing some 600 people closer to where they work, the project will reduce carbon emissions from commuter transportation by 500,000-600,000 pounds per year. The 100% electric project will seek a sustainability certification under the Enterprise Green Communities Plus program with an energy efficient building envelope and 75% energy offset from on-site solar photovoltaic systems. Social connection is further nurtured through common spaces and landscape amenities.
AUTHENTIC AFFORDABLE ASPEN
The Aspen Area Community Plan vision states that a “strong and diverse year-round community and a viable and healthy local workforce are fundamental cornerstones for the sustainability of the Aspen Area community.” This vision informed the Lumberyard project vision statement of, “A stable, thriving affordable neighborhood that is environmentally sustainable, connected, and welcoming, and which looks, lives and feels authentically Aspen.”
The Lumberyard is the largest affordable housing development that City of Aspen has ever proposed and will help ensure that more people who provide critical services to Aspen’s community and businesses have a local place to call home.
With median single family home prices in Aspen well over $10 million, the income distribution under the APCHA program must serve a broad range of working household incomes. Nearly half of the units will serve working households with incomes at or below 85% of Area Median Income (AMI). And about a third of the units will serve working households with incomes from 85% to 130% AMI. The balance of units will serve households with incomes from 130% to 240% of AMI.
The project includes several open landscape spaces and plazas. The neighborhood prioritizes social connection, pedestrian and bicycle travel, and special attention was given to create and improve local trail connections. The project will also include the creation of a new public street and sidewalk network, a multi-modal trail underpass and signalization of the intersection at the neighborhood access roadway.
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
With dedicated funding sources for affordable housing and the ability to issue debt, the City of Aspen has several financial options for the implementation. Project entitlements were approved in September 2023, and the project is organized into four phases. Phase 0 consists of the horizontal utility and roadway infrastructure, and vertical phases 1, 2, and 3 are made up of buildings 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Each building phase includes its own parking and landscape amenities.
The City of Aspen has begun the process of demolition of the existing facilities at the site and plans to develop the horizontal phase 0 infrastructure throughout 2025 and 2026. The City of Aspen is in the process of selecting a private developer to engage in a public private partnership to build, finance, own and operate the vertical phases of affordable housing thereafter.
With vertical construction planned to begin mid-to-late 2026, all developers whom the City pre-qualified through a competitive qualification process have proposed to develop 100% of the project in short order, rather than leaving some phases undeveloped for the long term. The longest proposed schedule would complete phases 1 & 2 by 2028 or 2029 with completion of phase 3 by 2033, and the shortest proposed schedule would complete all phases and units by 2028 or 2029. The City of Aspen plans to select and engage a developer in early 2025.
