For over 60 years, the Aspen Center for Physics has nurtured cutting-edge research in physics and related disciplines, spawning breakthrough discoveries about the universe. Over 16 weeks every summer, roughly 550 physicists come to Aspen for 2-4 week stays; every winter, another 500 come for 8 one-week conferences. These numbers will not increase. This proposal simply relocates a portion of current physicist housing from scattered Aspen and Snowmass rental locations to our campus, reducing highway trips into town and parking demand on our campus.

Sharp increases in Aspen rental costs and decreases in available rental housing have forced ACP to house a growing number of physicists in distant locations such as Snowmass Village. Even so, the continued steep growth in housing costs is not sustainable. Without the ability to offer our participants reasonably affordable housing, ACP’s very existence is in jeopardy.

The proposed number of on-campus units (27 units with 66 beds) is driven by this reality. In summer (winter), this plan will enable us to house roughly half (most to all) of our participants on-campus. ACP on-campus housing will be solely for our short-term scientific visitors; occupancy will be about 6 months of each year. No full-time staff will live there, and these units will never be rented or sold on the open market.

The plan preserves protected open space in the West End and most of the extensive open space on the ACP campus, critical to the Center’s attractiveness to the physics community. The 8 sustainable, LEED-certified, all-electric buildings, consistent with the Bayer-inspired style of the existing ACP and Aspen Institute structures, are designed to blend in with and will be extensively screened by existing and new trees and vegetation: no major neighborhood view lines will be impacted. An existing 50-year old building will be removed, eliminating its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. All existing access to trails will remain, including the trail to the horse track and the trails in Amy’s Meadow. The plan is designed to have no negative impact on neighborhood quality of life or property values.

The relocation of 30-40% of participant bedrooms to Snowmass Village in recent years has resulted in more traffic on Highway 82, more vehicle trips across the West End, and more daily use of parking spaces in the ACP lot. Housing physicists on our campus will eliminate the need for Snowmass Village rentals and result in reduced traffic into and through town, less demand for neighborhood parking, and overall reductions in GHG emissions. The ACP Transportation Management Plan will provide ACP participants with detailed information on and strong incentives to use the Aspen Cross Town Shuttle, other free city shuttles, the Aspen Downtowner, free RFTA bus routes, the WE-cycle bikeshare, and other non-automotive resources.

The Center will continue its longstanding practice of maintaining a fleet of free bicycles for all ACP participants for getting around town. We will enhance this fleet with bikes and e-bikes equipped with baskets suitable for grocery shopping. The Center will also provide 2 shared electric vehicles available to those in on-site housing for limited, unavoidable car trips. The 3 buildings on North Street will have adequate parking for visitors in those units; the units on the north side of campus will be accessible only by electric cart(s) that the Center will maintain. We are also exploring the possibility of limited auto storage off-site (not on the street) for those who travel to Aspen by car. Currently, the only time there is overflow parking onto neighborhood streets is during the weekly evening public lecture in the summer; nothing in this plan will change that.