As the Lift One Corridor Project gets closer to reality, the Aspen Parks and Open Space department is focusing on its responsibilities for the project that has been touted to rejuvenate the western side of Aspen Mountain.
Parks and Open Space Director Matt Kuhn told the Aspen City Council on Monday that his department’s financial share for the project would amount to $4.57 million. The department will be responsible for certain public-facing improvements in the corridor, including hardscaping and landscaping to the Dean Street Plaza and improvements to the pool house.
“We’d like to confirm that this is a high-priority project for us to work around,” Kuhn said. “That’s important as we go into these meetings and finalize our operating plans.”
The requirements for the department were outlined in the March 2019 ordinance, under which Aspen voters approved the public-private partnership by a 26-vote margin. The $4.57 million contribution was not outlined in the ordinance, Kuhn said.
The department is planning to allocate the funding in its 2026 budget. It is in addition to the city of Aspen’s fixed contribution of $4.36 million to support public-facing elements of the project along Dean Street.
The council unanimously agreed that the project should be prioritized, but Councilman John Doyle said the scale of the project was even larger than he anticipated.
“It’s kind of shocking, and I know it’s nobody’s fault here, and I know we have had a public vote on the hotels and we’re not going backwards, we’re going forwards,” Doyle said. “But I’m going to say I’m disappointed that $4.5 million wasn’t foreseen to change an existing park into a better park. I think if that was foreseen during the election, we might have had a different outcome.”
The parks department also wants to prioritize the project in the coming year in anticipation of a softening in sales tax revenue with the prolonged closure of the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport in 2027. The city collects a 1.5% sales tax designated for parks and open space.
“As you know, cost of construction continues to escalate each and every year in Aspen, but I do want to highlight that the reason we’re putting a little bit more scrutiny and focus on the funding this year is that it’s coming up, and also that it’s starting to overlap the potential softening of sales tax related to the airport closer in 2027,” Kuhn said. “So, with (the finance department’s) direction, our budget is representing that, and with these larger commitments, it just forces us as staff to really focus on where we’re spending our money.”
Initial site prep work will likely begin this summer, according to the city. Lift One Lodge submitted its building permit in March 2023 and OKO Group submitted its building permit in January 2025, Phelan said.
The city has a draft construction sequencing agreement in place. Lift One Lodge will not get a building permit until the sequencing agreement is finalized and signed by all parties, Phelan said.
More significant work will likely begin in the spring of 2026. The Lift One Corridor project encompasses several parcels of land from the corner of South Aspen Street and Dean Street to just above the current base of Lift 1A. The redevelopment includes construction of a new telemix lift, base area and skier return located closer to downtown Aspen, adjacent to Dean Street. There will also be a rehabilitated Skiers Chalet Lodge and rehabilitated Skiers Chalet Steakhouse, and the Lift One Lodge hotel and residences flanking either side of the ski corridor.
At the end of South Aspen Street, adjacent to the cul-de-sac, will be the Aman Hotel, formerly known as Gorsuch Haus.
City staff also requested direction on plans to convert the historic pool house into a public restroom. Most of the council members approved of the plan, but Councilman Bill Guth questioned it and said it would be a smarter use of money to convert it into a shed. It is a historically designated property.
Converting the pool house into public restrooms would cost between $450,000 and $750,000, depending on timeline and construction costs.
“I love historic structures, I’ve restored a lot of historic homes, I’m passionate about this part of our community,” Guth said. “I’m wondering if there’s just a smarter approach to do some agreement so that the restrooms in the building that’s right next to it can be used for park purposes and access for that purpose and then use this as a shed.”
Kuhn said it could provide easy restroom access for skiers and for people in the summer, especially if events take place at the adjacent park.
The figures presented Monday were not final, Kuhn said. The parks department will return to the council with refined numbers for the projects during the budget cycle in the fall to confirm next steps.
Mayor Rachel Richards supported converting the pool house to restrooms, and said the project as a whole shows how the city has changed, but “respects the past.”
“We all know this was a controversial project within the community; there are strong feelings on either side of it,” Richards said. “It’s part of a new modern Aspen that, to my mind, respects the past and is part of a lot of changes that we’re all experiencing.”
