The perceived need for the large new city of Aspen office building is, and always has been, based on faulty assumptions.
Look at the numbers. Why does the city need so much space? The oft asked question — How much square footage does the city really need? — never gets answered.
Did the ballot question about a community center really give the city the authority to build? Despite plenty of public objection, the project pushes forward full speed ahead. The “programming” for the building is clearly in flux. The city defends the project by referencing “needs” for 2050. How about needs for 2020?
Maybe the city should put 10 housing units on the third floor instead of 7,000 square feet of “community” space and “future” offices.
Andrew M. Israel
Aspen and Detroit