The photos on this page are of the 148 Centennial rental units during their recent 8 plus years of “regular” maintenance. Centennial developer Sam Brown owns these units and receives rental revenue under agreements with the Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority.
All quotes are reprinted exact and unedited from issues of The Aspen Times and Aspen Daily News from 2009 – 2014.
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The rental units do not have the problems alleged by the homeowners. City staff noted in a memo to the council and BOCC on March 31, 2011, that “The ‘sister buildings’ at the Centennial rental property were constructed at the same time, using the same designs and the same contractors. They do not face the same issues as a result of their diligence at repairing and fixing their water intrusion problems.”
We are proud that the rental units, with no drama, are among the finest employee units in Aspen.–Centennial developer Sam Brown
The rental section of Centennial has pursued a mitigation and repair program similar to these
recommendations for a number of years and it has reportedly been successful in stopping moisture intrusion and damage.-Barry Crook, assistant City Manager. 8/7/12
The rental portion of Centennial has been gradually dealing with the design/ construction
problems that bring on moisture/mold problems and claims not to have the same issues that the ownership group now faces. –Barry Crook
“The [City Staff] memo also points to the neighboring rental properties that “have been dutifully dealing with the same problems over the years do not face the same issues.”
The rental units have had the same water infiltration problems but the property managers there took action to mitigate the repairs over time. -Tom McCabe, APCHA Housing Director.
Anyone with any knowledge of construction knows that the siding, roofing, architecture and engineering were not “value engineered” to a low standard but were of the highest quality. There is no evidence of the “faulty construction”. –Sam Brown
Managers of the rental units at Centennial affordable housing say hundreds of thousands of dollars in preventative maintenance they have undertaken over the years has saved them the trouble that the ownership units are currently facing. -Tom McCabe, APCHA Housing Director.
They have been undergoing regular maintenance since the property was built in the early ’80s. –Sam Brown
(Barry) Crook suggested that the argument the buildings were poorly designed lacks merit.
“There’s no indication that these buildings were built with anything other than the designs and standards of the day,” he said.
“But it wasn’t a case of anyone cutting corners or shoddy construction that occurred back when these buildings were constructed.” -The Aspen Times 8/8/12
The rental buildings have exactly none of the problems the homeowners have. –Sam Brown
The project engineers were not the cheapest we could find, but the best. –Sam Brown
The roofs are standing-seam metal which is among the most expensive roofing materials but has a very long life. –Sam Brown
The siding which we have already replaced over the last five years on the rental property was the most expensive and finest available wood. So good that it is no longer even available. –Sam Brown
I do know that we do not have similar problems with the rental units and we have treated siding replacement as maintenance work done when needed. –Sam Brown
At the Centennial rental apartments, we pride ourselves on providing the highest quality housing. –Sam Brown
Those design elements are expensive, not “value engineered.” –Sam Brown
Finally, I would point out that most of the allegations about construction, engineering, and materials come from the same source as the now totally-discredited $10 million repair estimate. It would be helpful if the Daily News would not repeat unsubstantiated and ill-informed allegations as if they had some basis in fact. –Sam Brown
