A forthcoming park in south Golden is now 6 acres bigger.
The Golden City Council has approved annexing and rezoning the former Bachman farm property near the corner of Heritage Road and Colfax Avenue — also called the South Neighborhoods Property in official city documents. It was zoned for agricultural uses, but is now zoned conservation just like the 14-acre undeveloped parcel just north of it.
The city acquired the former Bachman farm located at 152 Heritage Road as part of a 2022 land exchange between Jefferson County Open Space and the Martin Marietta Materials quarry. The quarry, which previously owned the 5.77-acre property, gave it to Open Space.
Last year, Open Space deeded the property to the City of Golden on the condition that it must be used for parks, open space and/or recreational purposes. If not, the land reverts to Open Space, according to city documents.
Additionally, if the city was somehow able to sell the land without voiding the deed, Golden voters would need to approve the sale first, city staff confirmed.
There are several buildings currently on the Bachman property, which will remain for the time being, Senior Planner Lauren Simmons clarified. The buildings haven’t been occupied or used in some time, so Simmons wasn’t sure how viable they were.
Tammy Tucker, Golden’s parks and recreation director, explained after the meeting that her department’s focus now is securing funding and starting work on the Lena Gulch floodplain. Once that’s in progress, Golden can establish a timeline for the future park.
Additionally, the city’s continuing to assess the structures and archaeological findings on the site, she said.
Conservation zoning has several uses by right including parks, cemeteries, golf courses, wildlife preserves and agricultural uses. Simmons said Hunger Free Golden has proposed hosting community-centric agricultural resources, like a community garden, on the Bachman property.
However, beyond the general idea for a park, the city doesn’t have any guaranteed plans or a timeline for its 20 total acres, city officials said. They clarified it’s something the city’s Parks & Recreation Department will have to determine, in collaboration with the public and City Council.
“There are a lot of great ideas about the type of park and recreation, or educational activities, that might be developed on the site,” Tucker continued. “ … The property presents an exciting opportunity for people in Golden to develop a new space, and we’re looking forward to partnering with the community to plan a unique and special place.”
Mayor Laura Weinberg, who served on the parks and recreation advisory board from 2011-13, said this area has garnered a lot of interest from community members over the years as a critical connection among several Golden and Jefferson County parks. Thus, she expected a lot of participation once the city kicks off the public input process.
“(This property is) meeting a long-discussed need in the south Golden area,” Weinberg said. “We want community members to weigh in on what they’d like to see in there going forward.”
Apex’s past, Golden’s future
Both community members and city officials noted the Bachman property’s extensive history during the April 9 meeting.
The site is a former stagecoach stop and originally part of a paper town called Baden, which later became the real town of Apex, according to Golden history enthusiasts Preston Driggers and Rick Gardner.
Denverites established Baden in 1859 as a speculative venture, and in the 1860s, Apex became a village of ranching claims. The Nye Forwarding Company, a stage and freight line, operated in the area.
“Apex was a true town of the Wild West,” Gardner wrote to City Council ahead of the April 9 meeting, adding how the property includes the site where the Buckeye Hotel and Apex Inn operated.
After City Council’s April 9 vote, Gardner said Golden has now completely annexed all of the former Apex township — marking the first time it’s completely annexed one of its sister cities.
In the late 1800s, Joachim and Marie Binder settled on the property, Driggers said.
Joachim Binder owned several properties in and around Golden, including the Eagle Corral, and was a business partner and friend of Adolph Coors. By 1880, he was the fourth-largest property taxpayer in Jefferson County after the Colorado Central Railroad, William H. Loveland and the L.J. Smith Bank.
Even after the Bachmans bought the property, Driggers said many Goldenites still associated it with the Binder family decades afterward.
Councilor Paul Haseman requested that, whenever Golden moves forward with a park on the 20 acres, its name should be tied to the area’s history.
In 2010, the city bought the undeveloped 14-acre parcel just north of it for $1.3 million, with Jefferson County covering 25% of the cost. Now, with the Bachman property annexed into the city, Golden has about 20 total acres between Heritage Road and Zeta Street, nicely situated near Jeffco’s Apex and Tincup Ridge parks, Golden’s Heritage Dells Park, and other surrounding trails.
As they voted unanimously to annex and rezone the property, the councilors were excited to add such a historic property to Golden and to see it protected as a future park site.
“It’s great to have this place after so many years,” Weinberg said, referring to the long-planned JCOS-Martin Marietta land swap. “ … Now that it’s owned by the city and will be within the city, (it’ll be) something that the south neighborhoods have been asking for.”