A Colorado landlord has agreed to sell a troubled apartment complex taken over by the violent Venezuelan migrant gang Tren de Aragua.
Landlord Zev Baumgarten has battled with the Denver suburb of Aurora over the Aspen Grove after the city accused him of turning it into a trash-ridden, gang-infested hellhole, according to records obtained by the Denver Gazette.
Baumgarten also owns another apartment complex where a viral video showed a group of armed thugs breaking into a unit, the Gazette said.
Baumgarten’s company has now agreed to sell, rent or find a “similar arrangement” for the complex – which closed in August – forcing about 300 residents to move. the Gazette reports.
His company Nome Partners LLC must also pay to clean up the site.
Baumgarten’s company blames Aspen Grove’s dismal state on a takeover by Tren de Aragua.
One investor told the Denver Post that police had known about the gang problem in Aspen Grove for almost a year. The investor said the situation became so bad that staff left the site, causing waste to pile up and the building to fall into disrepair.
By June, attorneys for the landowners had sent letters pleading with police and local officials for help, claiming that Tren de Aragua had “forcibly taken control” of Aspen Grove. The city ultimately deemed the location a “criminal nuisance” and evicted the residents.
Last month, video surfaced at a separate apartment complex showing a crew with weapons entering a unit.
At the time, Baumgarten was facing more than 80 charges for building code violations, ranging from pest infestations to power outages.
While he blamed gangs, prosecutors pointed out that a second complex owned by Baumgarten, Fitzsimons Place, which also closed in August, had had code violations since 2020, according to local publication Westword.
That building was also overrun by migrant gang members, as was a third location in Aurora, a Denver suburb that opposed its neighbor’s “sanctuary city” policy, allowing more than 42,000 migrants to enter the city.
Now Aurora is feeling the consequences – residents are complaining about gunfights and other criminal activity linked to Tren de Aragua.
