Event for tenants of Aurora apartments at center of gang reports highlights ‘infested, unlivable’ conditions

V. Reeves, a community organizer with Housekeys Action Network, led a “community care” day event for tenants of an Aurora apartment complex that was at the center of recent gang reports that made national headlines.

“We want to stand with some of our most vulnerable tenants in the city,” Reeves said at Saturday’s event.

Community leaders and organizations gathered to get a first-hand look at the conditions facing tenants there Whispering Pines Apartment Complex on Helena Street.

“People are paying between $1,600 and $2,000 for these incredibly polluted, unlivable conditions,” Reeves said.

The apartment complex is one of several in Aurora being investigated for uninhabitable living conditions. It is owned by CBZ Management, the same property management company that left hundreds of tenants homeless after the city condemned the Nome Street building.

Whispering Pines tenants fear they will face a similar fate.

Organizers told CBS News Colorado that a city official told them that Whispering Pines tenants would have 15 days to vacate if property management does not respond to city requests or make repairs.

However, the city of Aurora told CBS Colorado that it has not yet determined next steps for Whispering Pines.

“They don’t have the resources to move and they lack support in applying for new housing,” Reeves said.

Reeves added that rumors of a gang takeover at several Aurora apartment buildings made it even more difficult for residents to be accepted into other complexes.

“There are people like Moises who have been applying for a month. He lives in the Dallas Street apartments, one of the other complexes, and says people turned him away as soon as they saw his address. “People with jobs are wanted.” said they had to hide the fact that they were Venezuelans,” Reeves said.

In early September, CBS Colorado investigative reporter Brian Maass obtained a confidential report from a Denver law firm hired by the building’s lenders. saying that a Venezuelan gang had taken over Whispering Pines until the end of 2023.

Venezuelan migrant Maria, who has been living in the complex for several months, says these are just rumors.

“I traveled through seven countries to come here and be treated badly – ​​it’s ugly, it’s sad and it hurts,” Maria said.

She said the narrative was deeply damaging to her community.

“We are not all the same. Nobody is perfect, but we deserve a chance,” she said.

A spokesperson for the city of Aurora released a statement to CBS Colorado acknowledging the situation and clarifying the city’s position:

“We fully understand and share the frustration expressed by Whispering Pines tenants. We are still working to get the owners and managers to address the multitude of issues at their complexes, including Whispering Pines. We are using every tool available at the state and local level to hold property owners and managers accountable, including measures that are not yet public. Property owners continue to reject or ignore the city’s efforts. It is their responsibility – and their sole responsibility under the law – to take care of their tenants. The City has no ownership or legal interest in these properties. The City’s powers and resources extend only to state and local law.

The condemnation of the Nome Street building in Aurora displaced nearly 400 tenants, including many low-income families. The potential condemnation of the Dallas Street building could leave more tenants homeless and limited city resources.