Negotiations begin this week over the lease for Aspen’s Old Power House. The Aspen Brewing Company and local TV station Aspen 82 won a competitive bid to move into the space, located off Mill Street. The proposal also has incubator space for new businesses. The City of Aspen owns the building, and because the new tenants include private companies, they are likely to pay more than the previous rent of $1 a year.
Negotiations for the lease, and the new rent, begin this week. Previous estimates were up to $250,000 a year. The Aspen City Manager’s office couldn’t say last week whether that’s still the range. Whatever the amount, it would likely go into Aspen’s General Fund, unless City Council decides otherwise.
In related news, Aspen Mayor Steve Skadron has responded to concerns, that his support of private businesses in the city owned space was a political flip flop. A newspaper column quoted Skadron as saying in 2014 that it wouldn’t be a good idea to have a successful private business operating in the Power House. Skadron tells Aspen Public Radio that that was his initial belief, but after evaluating all the applications, the brewery collaboration was the best fit for the building.
