I came here 46 years ago to build a hotel on South Aspen Street. We optioned the entire block above Lift One Condominiums and down the other side of the street to Willoughby Park. We were going to build a 100-room hotel. Included was a gift of land on Ute Avenue for affordable housing in addition to two other sites for open space.
It was killed by City Council and now all we have are dark townhomes on Aspen Avenue and multimillion-dollar homes on Ute Avenue. In my opinion, that decision was short-sighted and only led to privatizing the neighborhoods.
I am writing to express strong support for the Lift One Corridor Plan. This is the right place, and it’s about time, for vitalizing the neighborhood with hotels, bars and restaurants. Let’s not be short-sighted again. This plan brings Lift One home to Aspen, it creates a great park and it protects three important historical structures. Plus we get a great ski history museum to boot.
Please vote “yes.”
John Keleher
Aspen