Solutions
“The damage is going on inside of the walls, around the window and door rough openings with no interior or exterior evidence that the owner could see until the wall was opened up.”
Monroe Summers
Summers Property West
April 4, 1991
Since 2009, we have worked tirelessly to attempt a dialogue with the City of Aspen, Pitkin County and APCHA to find a collaborative, feasible solution to repair the costly damage to our deed-restricted homes and have been continually stonewalled.
Their unwillingness to have a dialogue in a timely manner and work toward a reasonable solution has had a huge impact. The cost to repair Centennial is now triple the estimate when we began discussions in 2009.
From the beginning, the HOA’s goal has been a workable solution, not an angry, expensive legal trial. We are also supporters of employee housing, and only seek the lifting of the deed restriction as a last resort. Unfortunately the conversation has been drawn out for 14 years causing the cost of repair to more than triple because City representatives believed falsehoods (which have been disproven) and refuse to follow the direction of elected officials to find better solutions.
The proposals that have been explored include:
2014 Centennial HOA Proposal
Centennial presented a solution that involved the City of Aspen fronting the repair costs and being repaid when the homes are sold at a cost that reflects the price of repairs made. The City rejected that solution because it would set a precedent for other HOAs. They also said they do not want to increase the cost of the homes for future buyers.
Similar proposals have been discussed recently by APCHA for other properties. A survey of Centennial residents who purchased their units in the last 10 years showed that they would have preferred to purchase their homes at a higher price but in a repaired condition.
The City acts as though they can continue to build and sell properties that won’t last, and make homeowners fully responsible for repairs, without being able to recoup those investments.
2022 City of Aspen Proposal
City staff presented a concept of purchasing parking spaces and a portion of Centennial's lawn in order to build over 60 more affordable housing units. After working with the City to get more information and answers for a year, the homeowners turned down the City’s proposal because the concept of selling our parking lots and other property to the City and building more units over them was unacceptable. The City also did not meet the most important requirement of the owners—that the money offered be sufficient to pay for all repairs.
City staff claimed they could not take responsibility for repairing the existing affordable housing and needed to be able to justify spending any public funds on housing repairs.
The City wants the current homeowners of Centennial to bear 100% of the responsibility of the repairs without being allowed to recoup their investments.
What’s Next?
Centennial HOA would like the opportunity to have an honest and straight forward dialogue with the City and County staff and APCHA board to discuss realistic solutions that will preserve these valuable condos for future generations. The board does not want to lose its deed restrictions (the possible result of a successful lawsuit), but believes that is the only path forward if the officials are unwilling to cooperatively find solutions.
1st
We would like the City and County to acknowledge their role and responsibility in helping to resolve these systemic design and construction issues.
2nd
Meanwhile, our buildings are deteriorating, and at some point, they will no longer be habitable.
Read more on solutions here.