Commercial Tenant Improvement / Tenant Finish Permit in Aspen, Colorado

Aspen requires a commercial tenant improvement / tenant finish permit for: Work may only be performed by a contractor licensed with the City of Aspen as a light commercial or unlimited contractor; on historic properties the GC must also hold the City's Historic Preservation contractor certification (Tenant Finish Cheatsheet, Updated 4/14/2026); Asbestos: regardless of building age, removing the volume equivalent of a 55-gallon drum of any material besides concrete, wood, brick, or steel triggers a required asbestos test; if asbestos is found and will be disturbed, a final air clearance abatement report is required before permit issuance; Occupant load and means of egress must be calculated (IBC Chapter 10) and shown on plans with exit access travel distances; restaurants count occupant load by seating and must delineate 36-inch clear egress paths; Accessibility: all new or altered construction must be accessible; alterations within the space of primary function additionally require an accessible entrance, accessible route, accessible toilet facilities, and accessible drinking fountain, with an exception where those upgrades would exceed 20% of the total project budget (construction estimates required to claim it); Fire/sound resistance: all fire- and sound-rated assemblies must be labeled on plans referencing listed and tested assemblies; disturbing more than 32 sq ft of drywall in a required fire-rated assembly triggers bringing it up to current code; penetrations of rated assemblies must be protected; dropped ceilings below rated horizontal assemblies must be non-combustible or fire-retardant-treated framing; Interior lighting changes require lighting plans, fixture cutsheets, and an Interior Lighting COMcheck complying with the 2021 Aspen Energy Code (C405.2 controls); on a change of use, a lighting plan and COMcheck are required even with no lighting changes; Structural plans (stamped) are required if any walls or potentially structural elements are altered, with a Special Inspection and Testing Agreement where the stamped plans call for items in IBC Sec. 1704; changes to interior walls require stamped plans or a stamped letter of structural engagement plus an asbestos test (within 1 year) if affecting more than 160 sq ft of potentially asbestos-containing materials (EPIC checklist); Change of use (between Mercantile, Business, Assembly, Residential, Storage/parking use groups) triggers additional requirements: lighting COMcheck regardless of scope, required toilet-facility count compliance, and possibly an additional exit; a change between commercial, residential, or lodging uses also requires contacting the Planner of the Day and is a zoning/land-use matter; Restaurants: commercial kitchen plans must show all equipment, sinks, and drains, with Type I/II hood design, PCU for charbroilers (90% PM10 filtration per the EPIC checklist), mechanical ventilation and make-up air calculations, grease trap, and equipment schedule; new food establishments or ownership changes also need a Retail Food Establishment license (foodsafety@aspen.gov); EPIC eligibility (Updated 4.16.26 policy): commercial use in a commercial zone district; interior and/or minor exterior alterations only; NO change in use, NO change in net leasable space or floor area, NO rooftop changes within the foreground of a mountain view plane, NO outdoor lighting or signage changes in scope; building must have a Letter of Completion; work without a permit or a red tag disqualifies the project; Change Orders to an EPIC permit are not expedited; Changes to demising walls or vertical circulation (elevators, stairs, dumbwaiters) are excluded from EPIC and may impact net leasable space or floor-area allocation — the Planning & HP Tenant Finish Guide directs applicants to the Planning Permit Review Team before submitting because a land use review may be required; Signage may NOT be included in a tenant-finish building permit — all signage requires a separate sign permit (published Round-1 SLA: 3-4 weeks); exterior lighting changes are likewise excluded from EPIC scope and go in a non-EPIC building permit or standalone electrical permit. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Aspen Community Development Department, Building Division at 970-920-5000 before starting work.

In Aspen, the published Submittal Fee is: Assessed once the application is deemed complete; payment starts the review clock. Additional published fees: Building Permit Fee + Plan Review (valuation-based) — Computed via the City's Building Permit Fee Estimator (Excel) referencing the current Municipal Code Fee Ordinance (Title 2). These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Aspen's published plan-review target for a commercial tenant improvement / tenant finish permit is 21–70 business days.

You'll need: Tenant Finish Cheatsheet (Building Department); Tenant Finish Guide for Planning & Historic Preservation; Building Permit Application Checklist for Commercial and Multifamily Projects (2021 IBC) — Alteration columns; Permit Application Signature Packet; Construction Management Plan (CMP). Depending on your project, Aspen may also ask for: EPIC questionnaire + completed EPIC checklist. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Apply through City of Aspen Community Development Department, Building Division at 427 Rio Grande Place, Aspen, CO 81611. Phone: 970-920-5000, email: buildingsupport@aspen.gov. Office hours: City of Aspen main line 970-920-5000. Building Support (permit requirement inquiries, pre-submittal questions): buildingsupport@aspen.gov, Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm. Builder of the Day (building code/regulations questions): builderoftheday@aspen.gov, 970-429-2735, Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:30pm. Planner of the Day (zoning, floor area, net leasable, signage, mountain view plane, exterior design): planneroftheday@aspen.gov, 970-429-2764, walk-in hours Monday-Friday 9:00am-12:00pm. Historic Preservation: HP@aspen.gov, 970-429-2758. Construction hours: Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:30pm, Saturday 9:00am-5:00pm, no construction on Sundays.. Official information: https://aspen.gov/179/Building.

Not by that name — tenant finishes are building permits classified by scope as New Mini Permits (3-4 week published Round-1 review) or New Minor Permits (8-10 weeks), and qualifying interior/minor-exterior commercial-zone alterations can use the EPIC expedited program (4-5 weeks, with all review agencies issuing comments within 24 hours of a single virtual review meeting). The City publishes dedicated Tenant Finish guidance from both its Building Department (cheatsheet updated 4/14/2026) and its Planning & Historic Preservation staff (guide updated 5/1/2026).

Per the EPIC policy (updated 4/16/2026): any change in use between commercial, residential, or lodging; any change in net leasable space or floor area; rooftop changes within the foreground of a mountain view plane; outdoor lighting or signage in the scope; a building without a Letter of Completion; prior work without a permit or a stop-work/red tag; and Change Orders to an existing EPIC permit. Historic properties are limited to like-for-like exterior repairs, mechanical/ventilation upgrades without impact to character-defining elements, and accessibility improvements.

If the previous tenant was a different IBC use group (Mercantile, Business, Assembly, Residential, Storage/parking), you are changing the use: a lighting plan and COMcheck are required even with no lighting changes, toilet-facility counts must be brought up to requirement, and an additional exit may be required for a higher occupant load. A change between commercial, residential, or lodging uses is also a zoning matter requiring the Planner of the Day, and it disqualifies the project from EPIC.