As developments rise, Ascent builds its way up

BROOMFIELD — In the tech-crazy Boulder Valley, you don’t expect to see many electrical engineers strapping on tool belts. But then again, not a lot was predictable about Ascent Builders’ rise to the top of the valley’s fastest growing firms, either.

“It is an odd story,” admitted Jason Brown, co-founder and president of the firm. “I’m an electrical engineer by degree and worked in the telecom business for about 18 years. Got burned out on that world, and somehow choose construction.”

Brown brought along fellow Level 3 employee Jeff Proctor into the venture in 2005, and the duo began with a home-remodeling business. The partners wanted to get their feet wet on a smaller scale and gradually build up a team of trusted subcontractors.

“In the early days, we did a lot of our own work. I knew enough to be dangerous,” Brown said. “But our goal was never to be wearing a tool belt long term.”

The remodeling business, Basement Partners, is still around, but the partners moved fairly quickly into other work in areas such as Denver’s Washington Park neighborhood.

They were literally building their way up to becoming developers.

“Then the recession hit and we had to put the tool belts back on,” Brown said. They relied largely on remodeling to get them by financially, and “framed a few houses and set a few doors. Those contracts were too valuable to let go,” he said.

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Ascent Builders Inc.

11001 W. 120th Ave., Suite 400

Broomfield, CO 80021

303-459-4947

ascentbuilders.net

Jason Brown, president

Founded: 2005

Employees: 12

Primary service: Residential and commercial developer, general contractor and home builder

Growth: 106%

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“That was a scary time,” said Brown, who was raising a young family at the time. “We had to regress. We had to get really lean.”

As it turned out, the recession was also their big chance. A number of construction companies failed, especially those that were strictly tied to new home builds, and Ascent was able to pick up some failed developments “for pennies on the dollar,” Brown said.

“I call them ‘broken projects,’ where another developer started a project and then went under,” Brown said. “We picked up one 25-unit project that already had the infrastructure, then a 50-unit project after that, and another 50-unit project …”

Today, the tool belts are definitely off, as Ascent’s team of 12 concentrates primarily on sales and project management. Development is the big growth item, but Ascent does still do general contracting as a home builder on other developments.

“We financed it largely by ourselves, but we also raised funds from family and friends,” Brown said. “We’ve made them a lot of money, too.”

The company has a 206-townhome development that is one-third completed across from a new light-rail line in Thornton. In Parker, it has 58 luxury townhomes in development, and it also has projects in Erie, Lakewood, Firestone and Denver.

Despite this success, Brown said, there are no plans to shelve the remodel business, which accounted for about $3 million of the company’s more than $12 million of revenue last year.

“We’re going to get another cycle, I don’t know when,” Brown said, “and we’re going to need that part of our business.”

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