Tenants of condemned Colorado apartment complex officially have less than a week to find housing

By Jasmine Arenas

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    AURORA, Colorado (KCNC) — A building located in north Aurora has been condemned by the city in a municipal action that coincided with the first day of school for many young Colorado residents.

On Wednesday, residents of Fitzsimons Place at 15th and Nome Street received formal notice to vacate the property by next Tuesday.

Representatives from Aurora Public Schools came to Fitzsimons Place to help on Wednesday because at least 30 students have 1568 Nome Street listed as their home address.

Nadeen Ibrahim with the East Colfax Community Collective was among those who came to help as well. He said many residents were blindsided by the city’s decision.

“We saw kids crying, we saw babies that were being held, pregnant women, and on top of that, the different organizations were also not aware of what exactly they can do because we have not been given time to coordinate a response around this,” said Ibrahim.

Nonprofits like EC3 are looking to help tenants. They just wish they had more time to do so.

One tenant, Maria Lucrez, says she was informed at least two weeks in advance by an inside source. Still, she agrees more time is needed for others. However, one thing they can all agree on is the nightmare this property has been for many. On Wednesday, the city posted 98 notices to residencies at the property that read “danger” and “unsafe to occupy.”

“My apartment burned down five months ago. I have renters insurance, that did not cover me at all,” said Lucrez.

Aurora city officials say they are shutting down the property after a plethora of code violations that have been ignored by property management and owners for far too long.

“Quite frankly, we are being held responsible for something the landlord should take care of,” said Ibrahim.

Shayra Caez, who claims to have also worked for the owner in the past, says she knows he will not take care of them. Caez says some residents even paid their rent on the first of the month — money she believes they will not see again.

“The owner, he don’t care nothing about this place, I know him personally and I know he won’t pay us, I know he won’t,” said Caez.

A spokesperson for the City of Aurora, Ryan Luby, tells CBS Colorado they will provide deposit assistance for residents who qualify and will later seek reimbursement from the property owner.

However, for nonprofits like EC3, the question remains: how will they find tenants a new home in such a short time?

“It is extremely difficult to find any housing in Denver and Aurora and no organization has stepped up to give that type of support yet,” said Ibrahim.

Both residents and nonprofits are still asking the city for more time.

“When you are giving families less than a week to go and qualify for another place to live you are literally creating a path to homelessness,” said Ibrahim.

Though the city says they understand the burden this causes for families, extending the time is not something they can do given the danger this property poses for tenants.

Residents of the complex were directed to an on-site resource table set up by the city’s Housing and Community Services Department; approximately 350 stopped by for information on available community resources. The city provided information to residents in English and Spanish about local nonprofits that can provide case managers to work with them on finding a new place to live. Residents will have to apply for deposit assistance from the city.

In addition to Aurora Public Schools and EC3, representatives from Adams County are also working to help the tenants.

Tenants have until 7 a.m. on Tuesday to vacate the property, at which point the city will shut off the water after months of no payment from the property owners.

The city also looks to board up the building and fence off the entire property. According to the city, this is in an effort to protect the safety and welfare of residents.

A “Safe Housing for Residential Tenants” law went into effect this year, requiring landlords to complete repairs for most issues within 14 days, including things such as trash pickups. The city says the landlord has repeatedly failed to obey.

CBS Colorado has reached out to CBZ Management and its attorneys several times and so far has not received any response.

Aurora Public Schools released the following statement about their involvement:

“We are working with the City of Aurora and many partner organizations to support families in the affected apartment complex. With our school year just starting, we know this is a difficult challenge for many of our families and we will continue to provide as many supports and resources as possible. It is critically important that our students continue to attend school every day, so that they are in a safe place to learn and to receive breakfast and lunch. We are sharing this information with all of our impacted families.”

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