$300,000 in damage estimated due to vandalism at former Silver City

Joe Mikhail says thieves caused an estimated $300,000 worth of damage to steal roughly $300 worth of copper. (COURTESY: Joe Mikhail)

Damage is estimated at $300,000 after break-ins and vandalism at the former Silver City movie theatre building.

Mikhail Holdings Limited owns about 2-million square feet of property in Windsor.

Joe Mikhail says crimes such as vandalism and break and enters are happening at a higher frequency in the city than he’s ever seen.

According to Windsor Police Service’s incident dashboard,118 break and enters were reported across the city between Nov. 21 and Dec. 21. The same period in 2021 saw 93.

“And I can name property, after property, after property that we own that’s been significantly damaged,” he says.

60,000 of those square feet: the building that was once SilverCity Windsor Cinemas.

Mikhail has hopes to develop the large building into space for medical offices and retail, but says it’s been plagued by vandalism.

“It’s quite disturbing. We’re doing our best to try to save this facility,” he says.Silver City is closing its location at Walker Road in Windsor, Ont. pictured on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2021. (Angelo Aversa/CTV Windsor)

Images taken inside the former theatre, provided to CTV News, show smashed in walls and destroyed fixtures – all in the name of stealing copper, Mikhail says.

He estimates there’s been $300,000 worth of damage caused in an effort to steal about $300 worth of material.

“You may look back and say, ‘well, these guys own property. They’re rich.’ But it’s a cycle that continues through every economic sector of our city,” Mikhail says.

He says he does not want to disparage police, who he says are always quick to respond when called for an active incident at one of their properties, but that there needs to be systemic change to address the issue – and the help the perpetrators.

“They catch them, they put them in jail, then they have to hire a lawyer. They have to pay for the lawyer and pay for assistance,” he says.

“To pay for it they have to go back and steal again.”

With files from CTV Windsor's Travis Fortnum.