City can afford to fix affordable units
Hunter Creek condos has three phases. Phases 1 and 3 are all free market and the majority of the complex. Phase 2 has 87 units in four buildings. They were remodeled and moved into in December 1981. Living room windows have a three-floor “warm weather” window system. They haven’t opened and closed properly for 18 years. They don’t seal and are out of alignment. The external frames separate, allowing water to leak into the units. Energy efficient they never were. The frames are hollow aluminum; they don’t perform in this climate. The three-floor windows are a “curtain” design with no support. Our 87 units share a three-floor living room curtain window. Each unit has 12 to 16 windows.
To replace the window system, footings will have to be dug, poured and framed.
Most of the 87 units are deed restricted, meaning employees must meet wage and residency requirements and don’t gain the free market appreciation. We are limited in appreciation to 6% annual for a certain amount of years.
The city of Aspen has a 150 Fund for housing. The city of Aspen’s $10 million purchase of Centennial is a great addition to their 3,000-plus employee units keeping employees in town. As with any facility, maintenance is the highest expense. It would be a fabulous investment for Aspen to utilize the 150 Fund in assisting with maintenance costs for such extensive ventures for all deed-restricted units.
Phase 2 has seen our reserve fund fees, HOA fees and special assessments and loans all rise a lot in recent years and will again for 2020. We have replaced roofs twice, hot tubs, boilers, stuccoed the exterior and replaced awnings over the years.
Issues yet to resolve are the window walls and radon. The cost to replace the window wall system will run approximately $950,000 to $1.3 million per building.
I hope that a solution can be worked out for all deed-restricted units. The city’s 150 Fund would certainly assist the deed-restricted owners.
Ed Petrosius
Aspen