The developers of Aspen’s new Lift One Corridor joined together on October 1st to unveil their plans for the new lift, new lodging and amenities along South Aspen Street. They shared their plans with roughly 300 members of the Aspen community at the Limelight Lodge in downtown Aspen.

They stated that the plan is the culmination of more than a year of work by the City of Aspen, the Aspen Skiing Company, Lift One Lodge and Gorsuch Haus. According to the developers, “it is truly a testament to the power of collaboration and couldn’t have been done without the significant participation of the Aspen Historical Society and the generosity of the Dolinsek family.”

The plan highlighted the proposed benefits to the community:

• The Skiers Chalet Lodge will be relocated to Dean Street and remodeled to house the Aspen Ski History Museum and will include skier services run by the Aspen Skiing Company.
• The Skiers Chalet Steakhouse will be moved down the hill along South Aspen Street and reopened as a restaurant.
• The historic bull wheel, one tower and chairs from the original Lift 1 will be renovated and showcased right below the new Lift 1A.
• The park space at Dean Street will be greatly improved and expanded with the addition of Dolinsek Gardens, Lift One Park, and Willoughby Park, including a 60-foot wide greenway between the two Lift One Lodge buildings for summer mountain access.
• 50 public parking spaces, public restrooms, public lockers, and bike racks are all part of the new Dean Street mountain portal

The new Lift 1A will be a telemix, a combination of gondola cars and chairs. This format allows year-round, multimodal use and will give the Aspen Skiing Company the opportunity to explore reopening Ruthie’s Restaurant. This is a historic opportunity to bring Lift 1A back to the core of Aspen and make it as easy to access as the Silver Queen Gondola.

Two lodges are proposed as part of the plan. Gorsuch Haus at the top of South Aspen Street, immediately adjacent to the current site of Lift 1A, and Lift One Lodge on the properties once occupied by the Holland House, Skiers Chalet Lodge and Skiers Chalet Steakhouse. Gorsuch Haus will be an 81-room hotel and Lift One Lodge brings another 104 lodge rooms. These new properties contribute much needed new lodge inventory and provide the bed base that is an important foundation for the vitality of this portal.

The developers asked the townspeople to support “this historic opportunity that has emerged thanks to the insistence of Aspen City Council and the many people in the community who pressed for the return of walk-up access to Aspen’s original base area.”

If approved by voters, developer Michael Brown (Lift One Lodge) said it would take four or five years for all of it to be built. Lift 1A would be out of service for one or two seasons.

Because it involves city land, zoning changes and variances to the land-use code, the plan requires a public vote, which is anticipated for this spring.

Developer Jeff Gorsuch (Gorsuch Haus) asked the room for its support in that election and said the project connects the heart of the mountain with the soul of the town.

More information can be found at:  www.LiftOneCorridor.com.