Residents at the troubled Edge of Lowry apartments in Aurora will be forced to move out after a municipal judge granted an emergency order to close the complex, and the property’s long-term future is still in limbo as city officials pursue a criminal negligence case against the owners.
Judge Shawn Day found the property at 1218 Dallas St. presents “an imminent threat to public safety and welfare” after Aurora officials filed for an emergency closure order to shutter the 60-unit apartment complex for one year.
In court documents, city officials described the property as “an epicenter for unmitigated violent crimes and property crimes” and cited the alleged kidnapping and torture of two residents by suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
“The city is simultaneously working on a plan with Arapahoe County and other community partners that will provide relocation assistance to established tenants of the 60 affected apartment units,” city leaders said in a news release Monday.
Aurora officials plan to close the apartment complex by mid-February, City Attorney Pete Schulte said after a court hearing for the criminal negligence case against property owners Five Dallas Partners. City leaders do not know how many people are living in the complex and said dealings with similar properties indicate there could be a range of two to 12 people per unit.
The city is working to hire an outside company that will manage the closure process, including going door to door to take a census of how many residents will need to be relocated.
Several attorneys for the Edge of Lowry owners filed a motion to withdraw from the criminal negligence case late Monday morning and did not appear in court, though Day had not yet granted the motion.
“This is stall, stall, stall,” Schulte said during the hearing. “We see that with this group again and again.”
Attorney Bud Slatkin appeared virtually on behalf of the complex owners and objected to Schulte’s comments.
“We are not in the business of stalling,” he said. “We are in the business of protecting these residents and being good citizens of the city of Aurora.”
Five Dallas Partners and co-owners CBZ Management have not filed a petition with the court to reconsider the emergency closure and, as of the 3 p.m. hearing, had not paid the $98 court fee to move forward with a jury trial in the criminal negligence case. Slatkin told the court he would pay it by the end of the day.
The Edge of Lowry gained international notoriety this fall after a viral video of armed men forcing their way into apartments caught the attention of President-elect Donald Trump. The complex racked up dozens of code violations for graffiti, trash and weeds in recent months along with 911 calls for assault, trespassing and more, according to Aurora city officials.
Nine people have been charged with kidnapping, assault and robbery in connection with the December kidnapping and torture of a man and a woman who lived at the complex, Aurora police said Monday, and seven people are still being investigated for their connection to the incident.
Police Chief Todd Chamberlain on Monday again laid blame on the apartment’s management for failing to address issues at the complex.
“The problem is a mismanaged location that allowed this crime to flourish,” Chamberlain said at a briefing after the court hearing.
Attorneys for the owners have previously claimed they could not keep a management team at the complex because of criminal activity and, in court filings, alleged the problems were caused “by willful, reckless or negligent acts taken by the city and its agencies.”
The case is set to return to court for a scheduling hearing in March.
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