A man utilizes the pedestrian access while the Wheeler Opera House is under construction in downtown Aspen on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
The city of Aspen is forgiving nearly $200,000 in rent for two of its tenants that have been living under scaffolding at the Wheeler Opera House for months and therefore have not paid their landlord for nearly a year.
Aspen City Council agreed earlier this month to relieve Aspen Public House, a bar and restaurant, and Valley Fine Arts, an art gallery, from paying rent through at least June.
That’s when the scaffolding and the impacts of a nearly yearlong renovation of the historic building’s sandstone facade will be completed.
Mike Schultheis, general superintendent of Summit Sealants and Restoration, points out the areas replaced on the arches at the top of the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
Aspen City Council on Monday narrowed it down to two possible options for voters to consider diverting some level of funding away from a cash-flush Wheeler Opera House fund and toward other community needs.
The majority of council members during their work session opted for a possible ballot question asking voters to repurpose any future revenue above $2 million from the dedicated Wheeler Real Estate Transfer Tax for other uses.
A second summer of dining in streets on menu for Aspen restaurants aspentimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aspentimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Some of the largest landlords in Aspen have elected to increase the rent of hundreds of local residents this year, and many of those renters are suffering economically due to the COVID-19 crisis.
At the Centennial rental apartment complex, where there are 148 units, rents were increased as much as 3% for some renters, which is nearly a $650 annual increase.
However, Andrew Held, president and chief operating officer of Birge & Held, which acquired Centennial last March, said the average increase amounts to $24 a month.
Centennial’s rental increase formula is tied to the Denver Consumer Price Index, and was done in compliance with the existing rental restriction agreement and ultimately required by Birge & Held’s lender underwriting, according to Held.