A landlord at the center of an Aurora immigration controversy has problems in Denver, too.
City officials announced Friday that they were shutting down 1644 N. Pennsylvania St., known as the William Penn Apartments, for ongoing health and safety violations. The property is linked to CBZ Management, the company behind the so-called “Tren de Aragua” apartments in Aurora.
The Denver property had been on notice with the Denver Department of Health and Environment (DDPHE) for over a year, related to broken heating systems, mold, missing locks and more.
“DDPHE and other city agencies have done everything in their power to compel the property owner of this building, CBZ Management, to bring the site into compliance with city codes,” Jon Ewing, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said in a statement.
“This includes more than $280,000 in fines, three liens on the property, a court summons, and placement on the city’s Neglected and Derelict Buildings list. Unfortunately, to date, these enforcement actions have not resulted in meaningful change or improved conditions for residents.”
Emily Williams, a DDPHE spokesperson, said the city asked a court on Thursday to pass the building’s ownership to a third-party receiver, which is now charged with bringing the property up to code. The city moved most people out of the building on Thursday night as a judge granted that request.
“I don’t think anyone slept here last night,” she told us.
Squatters entered the property.
We met Ky Ward as she was moving her stuff out of her room on the building’s third floor. She paid $1,400 a month to live here for the last seven months and was relieved something was happening. She had encountered a lot of rough looking strangers in the hallways.
“It went downhill and then [became] really unsafe. I was walking over bodies every night, like up the stairs and stuff,” she said. “I was surprised it lasted this long.”
Ewing and Williams said security was one of the city’s main concerns, particularly a missing lock on the front door. The closure was sparked by what they said were unhoused people staying in vacant rooms in the building, who had turned to dangerous methods to warm themselves while the heat remained perpetually broken.
“When they’re getting in and the boiler isn’t working, and it’s freezing outside, they turn the gas stoves on — and leave them on. And we get there the next morning and are worried that we’re a match away from Timbuktu,” Ewing said.
One room Denverite saw was filled with trash. City workers cleaned up some needles left inside, but at least one remained in the bathroom.
“A major concern is ensuring people paying their rent, doing what they need to do, aren’t endangered by people who don’t even live here,” Ewing said.
The landlord became infamous last year in Aurora.
City records show the William Penn was purchased by 1644 Pennsylvania Partners LLC in 2019 for $5.2 million. Ewing said the real entity behind that company is CBZ Management.
Last year, three of CBZ’s complexes in Aurora became the subject of rancorous political rhetoric about immigration after an Aurora City Council member said they had been “taken over” by a Venezuelan gang.
Residents of those buildings said they had long been in decline, even before the immigration surge in Denver. Aurora closed CBZ’s Fitzsimons Place apartments last August. On Friday, Aurora city officials announced they were also closing CBZ’s Edge at Lowry apartments.
“A documented history of neglect by CBZ and its various LLCs has left the complex in a state of disrepair that alone presents a risk to public well-being,” Ryan Luby, a city spokesperson, said in a statement about the Aurora apartments. “More recently CBZ’s absentee ownership has allowed a criminal element to victimize residents – including Venezuelan migrants seeking refuge from social strife in their home country.”
CBZ did not respond to a request for comment.
CBZ is the first Denver landlord to have its license suspended.
In 2022, the city launched a new licensing program for landlords, requiring anyone renting rooms to register with the city. The city has issued more than 25,000 licenses.
Eric Escudero, spokesperson for Denver’s Department of Excise and Licenses, said CBZ’s license for the William Penn has been “summarily suspended,” which means the company is not allowed to issue leases or renew them until it has completed a public hearing and discipline process. It’s the first such action Denver has taken against a landlord in its new registry system.
A summary suspension is “the most extreme option” the city can take, he added. It’s more likely for a license holder to receive a lesser suspension that allows them to continue operating as they work with the city to fix problems.
The suspension only pertains to 1644 Pennsylvania. CBZ has two other properties in Denver, at 4470 E. Jewell Ave. and 1399 N. Vine St., that are unaffected.
CBZ’s track record won’t impact its ability to operate other properties or even start leasing a new building, if it chooses.
Editor's note: This article was updated Jan. 24, 2024 at 2:28 p.m. to correct a detail about the licensure disciplinary process.
