ROARING FORK BROADCASTING COMPANY
Theatre Aspen can move forward with plans for a permanent venue at Rio Grande Park after Aspen City Council members approved the first step during its meeting Tuesday night.
The council approved a letter of intent from Theatre Aspen that allows it to begin a land use application process of using 34,000 square feet of land within Rio Grande Park to use for a year-round permanent theater facility. It proposes replacing the current semi-permanent tent structure with a permanent venue and extending Theatre Aspen’s lease with the city by 40 years at a rate of $10 per year.
The letter does not bind the city to current designs, but allows Theatre Aspen to move forward with the land use application with the city. Current designs show a two-level building that would increase theater capacity to 291 seats and add room for a rehearsal space.
Theatre Aspen first proposed its building concept in August 2022. But after the Open Space and Trails Board raised concerns about the mass and scale of the building and overall concerns with how the new venue would fit into the park’s existing landscape, Theatre Aspen worked with the city’s parks and open space staff to refine the design.
The city council supported moving forward with the land use application, but expressed some concerns about the environmental disruptions of the project.
“To be very clear about how I feel as a citizen, I feel like I’d be happy if Theatre Aspen were to construct a more solid and functional building for themselves down there, but I have some concern about the excavation going down for another floor of rehearsal space and the like,” Mayor Torre said.
Because the project proposes changes to a city park, it may require voter approval to move forward, City Attorney Jim True said.
A vote could be placed on the ballot by city council, or by a group of citizens through a referendum, True said. The city’s final approval of the lease and accompanying land use approvals could be subject to a public vote for a variety of reasons, according to the letter of intent.
“My support for this is for there to be a vote on this. It is way too impactful for the council to decide on its own for such a beautiful spot in town,” said Councilman Sam Rose.
Rose urged Theatre Aspen to engage the public during the land use process to get support from the community. A previous Theatre Aspen presentation about the project proposed hosting community open houses, meetings with nearby homeowners, meetings with public interest groups and more while the project is underway.
A permanent facility would allow Theatre Aspen to partially or completely consolidate some current activities like cabarets, education classes and education productions. It might include adding winter or spring concerts or productions and additional holiday programming.
Once the land use application is submitted, the city’s planning staff will review the application, hold any required public hearings and present the application to the required decision-making bodies for final approval. Theatre Aspen can apply for a building permit once the land use application is approved.
In addition to specific Theatre Aspen uses of the space, the letter of intent also allows the space to be used for non-theater rentals such as weddings, meetings, other stage productions and other private events.