A mile east of Denver International Airport, surrounded by undeveloped agricultural land, a haphazard-looking loop is carved into the ground.
It hints at the site’s proposed future: a members-only racetrack that would be available solely to those able to pay tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“This isn’t a typical racetrack that people may imagine,” Adams County spokeswoman Nikki Kimbleton said in an email to BusinessDen. “It’s a membership-only, private facility for people with lots of money to store their vehicles and take them out on the track.”
The proposed racetrack is Ascent Drive Resort, which according toits websiteis proposed to include a 3.75-mile racetrack, a 160-acre off-road park, a 0.8-mile karting track, 750 private garages for member vehicles, a clubhouse and event venue — all on 580 acres at 9600 N. Imboden Road in Adams County.
The company gave public notice of the project in May 2021, and closed on some land purchases in the area during that year.
Isaac Bouchard, founder and chief revenue officer for Ascent Drive, declined to talk about the project with BusinessDen. Abigail Wenk, the company’s director of communications, did not respond to emails or phone calls.
Ascent Drive has “received entitlements from planning to operate,” county spokeswoman Kimbleton wrote.“They’ve been going through grading on site before construction of the track and structures.”
The land is under the ownership of three limited liability companies — Warthog LLC, Tatonka Watkins LLC and Sidetrack LLC — that were listed on permit filings with Adams County. Wenk is the registered agent for the entities. The LLCs are registered to the same downtown Denver address as Bison Oil & Gas, where Wenk is vice president of corporate administration.
Ascent Drive held an “unveiling party” in April 2022 for the project,according to its Instagram profile. In twoposts last summer, aerial photographs showed the track carved into the land, and the company told a commenter that it hoped to begin paving in 2024. Ascent Drive has not posted on Instagram since October.
The resort’s website said there will be threetypes of memberships: gold, with a $65,000 initiation fee and $7,500 due annually; platinum, with a $100,000 initiation fee and $12,000 due annually; and founding, with a $225,000 initiation fee and no annual dues.
Residents residing near the proposed racetrack expressed concerns regarding crime and safety, increased noise levels and level in connection with the racetrack,according to Adams County records.
“This is my home, not a recreation spot,” Stacey Easterday, who resides about two miles south of the proposed track, wrote in a letter. “I very much enjoy our quiet atmosphere and do not want to hear constant noise associated with either the racing cars or the additional, down the line, expansion ideas and the traffic it will drive into our neighborhoods.”
Lisa and Roger Trublet de Nermont, who are farmers and also live two miles south of the development, wrote that they were concerned the racetrack would lead to speeding on nearby roads and that the development led to loss of land necessary for farming.
“We need to be protecting our lands, not pouring concrete over fertile farm land that has been cultivated for growing crops,” they wrote. “We should all consider the impact of losing farmland to development. … We have no problem with anyone in our agricultural area exercising his or her right to use their agricultural land in an agricultural way, but we do have an objection to Agricultural Land that is being destroyed.”
Wenk wrote a letter in response to Easterday in April 2022, saying Ascent Drive had bought additional land and restructured the development to move any “features that can create sound” an additional 1,000 feet away from nearby homes. Wenk also wrote the company was working with noise consultants and law enforcement to address noise and safety concerns.
“We feel confident that these changes will help us be good neighbors,” Wenk wrote.
Get more business news by signing up for our Economy Now newsletter.
Originally Published: July 8, 2024 at 3:00 p.m.
