The Edge at Lowry apartment complex in Aurora on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
An Aurora apartment complex that achieved national infamy after it was supposedly taken over by Venezuelan gangsters could soon be operated by a court-appointed caretaker.
U.S. Bank sued CBZ Management, the owner of The Edge at Lowry, on Tuesday. The bank claims that CBZ hasn’t repaid a $2 million loan and that The Edge, at 1208 Dallas St., “is presently laboring under the burden of the presence of alleged gang members.”
In early August, CBZ went public with claims that Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang was occupying three of its apartment complexes in Aurora, including The Edge. Two weeks later, a video showing armed men inside became popular fodder for pundits and politicians.
Aurora police have arrested alleged gang members on charges of theft and violence but have pushed back on claims that The Edge or any other complex is under gang control. The city has largely blamed New York-based CBZ, which Mayor Mike Coffman has called an “out-of-state slumlord.”
In August, the city shut down another CBZ building in Aurora, Fitzsimons Place, displacing 85 families. It is now for sale. On Sept. 26, the city informed CBZ that it intends to close The Edge if the landlord does not solve its crime problem, the Aurora Sentinel reported.
U.S. Bank wants The Edge run by a receiver rather than closed. And it has a guy in mind.
“Kevin Singer and his team at Receivership Specialists have experience in managing properties affected by gang presence and addressing that problem and eliminating it,” it claims.
Residents and supporters gather to speak out at the Edge at Lowry apartment complex in Aurora on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Receivership Specialists is based in Los Angeles and has offices in California, Nevada, Arizona and Chicago. Singer did not respond to interview requests Wednesday.
“Receivership Specialists has developed a protocol for gang-infested properties that it will employ at the property,” U.S. Bank wrote in its request for a receiver Tuesday. The bank did not elaborate on what that protocol entails but said it “approves of the protocol.”
Singer will be paid $350 per hour from proceeds at The Edge, if District Court Judge Ben Figa signs off on the arrangement. U.S. Bank said that CBZ doesn’t oppose the receivership. A company spokeswoman and CBZ’s owner did not answer requests to confirm that.
U.S. Bank said that CBZ hasn’t made payments on its $2 million loan since June and has claimed “that gang-related activity at the property has interfered with collection of rents.” The bank said it refuses to front the landlord more money until a receiver is put in place.
Its attorney is Craig Schuenemann in the Denver office of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.
