Significant damages have been made to the former Silver City movie theatre in Windsor.
The former theatre has been destroyed by thieves, causing $250,000 in damages to the building.
Joe Mikhail, Director of Mikhail Holdings and owner of the former theatre, says the vacant building has been hit multiple times in the past few weeks.
Mikhail says the thieves have been able to make their way inside through a garbage chute and have cut 600 volts power to the building, leaving the building and the parking lot completely dark.
He says despite locking the building, and patrols around the building, the thieves still find their way inside.
"For the sake of maybe $500 worth of wire, that alone the transformer costs us all the power to the building and over $175,000 worth of replacement costs just for that alone. They've been coming in almost on a regular basis one way or the other, regardless of how we lock it, regardless of how we patrol it."
He says they have destroyed everything you can imagine.
"Taken hammers, busted every facility in there from toilets to urinals, to plumbing, to walls, to light fixtures, to everything possible. It's been very disappointing to see, very heartbreaking actually to see what people can do."
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Joe Mikhail, Owner of Former Silver City Movie Theatre
He says these individuals are selling whatever they rip out of the building.
"They're driving in, these aren't homeless individuals. They're coming in, in brand new pick up trucks and they drop people off, break in, leave them in there for a few hours and then they come back and pick them up. And then they take their spoils with them, and then turn them into currency, they sell them to the salvage yards which effectively is illegal."
Mikhail adds that the building is no longer insured, and he will have to be the one to pay for the damages.
"This is money that I have to put back into the building to bring it back to life, so when you go out and spend another $300,000 to bring it back, you're not spending that kind of capital on basically making the building better again, you're just bringing it back."
He says he has been in contact with Windsor Police, who are investigating, and is confident those breaking in will be caught.
"Rest assured, those individuals will be caught. And they'll be dealt with. One way or the other they'll be dealt with. So we do have 24-hour surveillance, we do have capture video, and we will find these individuals."
Mikhail says he has plans to make the building into a commercial development, creating a space for new stores and restaurants.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Joe Mikhail, Owner of Former Silver City Movie Theatre