City of Aurora to close apartment complex, claiming long history of code violations ignored by Colorado property management and owners
The City of Aurora plans to close an apartment complex with a long history of code violations, leaving dozens of low-income families soon without a home. Residents there, most of whom are Venezuelan migrants, say they now have less than a week to find a new place to live with few options available. Fitzsimons Place apartment complex is in northeast Aurora near Peoria Street and Colfax Avenue.
The city says they are shutting the entire building down because of long standing problems like rat and bug infestations, trash piling up, and a lack of heat and electricity. The city says the property manager is set to be in court for a number of health and safety code violations that go back to 2019. That's before the group of Venezuelan arrivals made their way to Colorado.
However, a person who claims to be an investor in the property says the building is being shut down due to Venezuelan gang activity, and because it has become a hotspot for crime.
Tenants like Inez Guzman have lived at the complex for six years. Guzman claims she is one of the few who have stayed at the complex over the years and watched the apartment complex transform into a slum.
"Our hot water is turned off every week. We have to boil water to take a warm shower...and there's a lot of rats and mice," she said in Spanish.
The City of Aurora sent CBS Colorado photos that show rats and mice found inside the units. They also sent pictures of the endless loads of trash surrounding the complex. The piles of garbage can be seen firsthand.
"They do nothing to help us, but we still pay rent on time," said Guzman in Spanish.
Guzman claims she has been paying around $1,600 for rent with utilities. She is currently dealing with a plethora of health issues and is paying for rent with her Supplemental Security Income check. She says it is just not enough.
Inside her unit, her walls are decorated with the Puerto Rican flag. The flag is one of the things that brings a smile to her face. However, when it comes to the floors and other issues inside her unit, she feels defeated.
Guzman took CBS Colorado inside her unit, where she showed how her floor is lifting due to mold underneath.
Despite uninhabitable conditions, Guzman and her family feel say the most disturbing thing to deal with is the violence in the area and in her complex.
Guzman claims they hear gunshots almost weekly. She showed CBS Colorado reporter Jasmine Arenas a bullet she found right outside her door.
"It's really hard," broke down, Shayra Caez, daughter of Guzman. Caez and her husband moved into her mother Inez's unit a couple months ago to help her take care of their family member who is mentally ill. This was after Guzman began to have health issues herself.
"It's really hard because she takes care of the rent with the small amount that they get," said Caez.
The apartment complex is home to at least 50 families.
"There's a lot of stuff going here, this is a mess," said Caez.
According to the city, property management and owners have refused to address the issues, which also include unpaid water bills from property management.
"Despite the city's efforts to work with the property owners and their property management group, CBZ Management, they have failed to address the violations and have been uncooperative. Conditions at the property have rapidly deteriorated further in recent weeks," said Ryan Luby, spokesperson for the City of Aurora.
Caez says their family is happy the troubles are finally coming to an end, but she's sad not knowing where they will find shelter next with such a short notice.
"I don't ask for help, I just want my mom to have a place, that's all," Caez said.
In a statement to CBS Colorado, a spokesperson for the City of Aurora, Ryan Luby, wrote the following:
"No one at the city is denying or ignoring the possibility of organized crime impacts on this property or any other. However, what is critically important for the public and the property owners to understand is that the latest concerns they raise about possible gang activity on their property are immaterial and irrelevant to the longstanding code violations and the poor property conditions that have triggered the forthcoming abatement.
The city finds it disingenuous that anyone from the ownership and/or management group of this property can even infer that the city of Aurora believes the property has been adequately repaired, remedied or that is it in full compliance. There have been many, many conversations over a long period of time, including very recently, about the city's many concerns about the condition of the property and its habitability. Although it is their choice, the city wishes that the property owners had chosen to cooperate with city staff and worked toward a solution to remedy the poor property conditions and outstanding code violations, rather than electing to hire attorneys and a PR firm to twist the narrative."
Due to the city's limited ability to provide housing assistance, staff are looking to coordinate with the state to marshal available resources.
They also are looking to call on Denver metro area nonprofits to help tenants in need of housing assistance and placement. Tenants must vacate the property by 8 a.m. on Aug. 13.
