Denver is asking the Denver Immersive Repertory Theater to show it some receipts.
The immersive theater, where customers pay to be part of the show, was supposed to open this year at 15th and Blake streets downtown after being awarded a $400,000 loan from a city affiliate. But the theater stopped paying rent on its space in May and saw its lease terminated last week.
On Monday, Denver’s Department of Economic Development & Opportunity sent a notice of default to DIRT, asking for a full accounting of how its money was spent, due to a “potential misuse of loan proceeds.”
DIRT co-founders Blair Russell and Steve Wargo did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The two playwrights were awarded the $400,000 loan at 3% interest over a 13-year term in July 2025 from the Denver Downtown Development Authority. The city affiliate is responsible for investing downtown sales and property tax revenue into projects to stimulate economic growth.
After a long back-and-forth with the city, the theater received the funds in February of this year. According to the default notice sent Monday, DIRT had pledged to use some of the funds to pay rent for March, April and May.
“Upon information and belief, DIRT has not paid rent to the landlord for May 2026 despite having received loan funds from the City and County of Denver for that purpose,” the notice reads.
The theater failed to pay rent for June, too. That prompted an eviction notice from landlord Fred Glick.
Rather than go through the eviction process, however, the parties agreed to terminate the lease for the 10,000-square-foot theater at 1431 15th St., which is only partially built. Glick said DIRT handed back the keys last week.
“I’ve got piles of this and piles of that in the space and holes in the floor I need to resolve,” he said.
The theater was also sued for that half-completed construction job. General contractor Beaver Construction Consulting filed a lawsuit in June alleging that it was owed $269,000 for unpaid work.
The case was closed after Beaver moved to have it dismissed last week, court records show. Its president, Roger Beaver, declined to comment. “We’re not here to bad-mouth anyone,” he said.
All the while, the city is waiting to hear back on where its money has gone.
The default notice requests a complete accounting of the $400,000 loan. DIRT has until Aug. 7 to produce documentation of how it spent the funds, of which $50,000 was set aside for fixtures, furniture and equipment, with the remainder dedicated to “working capital.”
The city hasn’t received any loan payments from DIRT. The first, for just over $3,000, is due in September.
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