An underground parking garage is the latest iteration of an ever-changing lodge proposal on Main Street in Aspen. As Aspen Public Radio’s Carolyn Sackariason reports, the change is an attempt by the developer to appease opponents of the project.
Developer Mark Hunt on Monday amended the Base 2 lodge plan to include not less than 19 spaces in the basement, 15 of which satisfy city rules around parking. City Council earlier this year approved the 37 room lodge, waiving parking stipulations.
Those waivers, along with double the square footage allowed under code, induced a citizen-led referendum to go on the November ballot asking city voters to shoot down the project. Hunt decided to provide parking in order to satisfy his opponents’ concerns. During the approval process, he had argued in front of council it wasn’t economically feasible.
Hunt hopes to tear down the Conoco on Main Street, located across from Carl’s Pharmacy, and put Base 2 there. It would be a sister hotel to Base 1 lodge, which council already approved for a parcel Hunt owns across from City Market on Cooper Avenue. Carolyn Sackariason, Aspen Public Radio news.