Owner of a former Silver City building with $650K in damages says the city is changing

The owner of the former Silver City building on Walker Road says he's lost more than $650,000 due to property damage caused by thieves trashing the place while searching for copper and other metal to sell. 

Joseph Mikhail of Mikhail Holdings said the property has been targeted "non-stop almost on a weekly or daily basis" for nearly a year now.

"Insurance won't cover this," he said. 

Mikhail sent an email to police in February appealing once again for their help, saying, "In all my years doing business in Windsor, I have yet to see such outright lawlessness and vandalism."

It began when vandals dismantled the power grid servicing the building and the parking lot, cutting off all power to the premises, he said.

"Somebody without the knowledge could have easily killed themselves by touching it," he told CBC. "So there's some knowledge involved there."

Next the individuals tore down drywall in the interior of the building to strip out wires and copper.

Recently, he said, they have climbed onto the roof and destroyed heating and cooling units valued at $100,000.

"We have welded doors shut, we have boarded them with locks and heavy screws, we have sealed garbage compactors — videos, security, we have done almost everything possible," Mikhail told police in an email.

"But they come with hard hats, tools and ladders … professionals … you would think … but what professional would destroy over $650,000 of a building to take about $2,000 in metal?"

Cineplex announced in January 2022 that it was closing the location on Walker Road.

At the time, Mikhail told CBC he could see few options other than to tear down the building. 

Now, he said, he has begun renovating the building and has applied to the Ontario Ministry of Health to repurpose part of it as a private MRI clinic.

Police have visited the building "dozens of times" with canine units, Mikhail said.