Squatters ruin property known for miniature train

After repeated break-ins and a scare involving a knife-wielding man, Paul Taylor feels he has no choice but to demolish his childhood home and clear a swath of trees from the secluded Charleswood property.

Taylor said he’s pursuing the measures for the sake of the neighbourhood and to ensure the Roblin Boulevard site, next to Assiniboine Park, is no longer a “magnet” for criminals or squatters.

“I hope they can appreciate where I’m coming from, and what I’m doing is for the safety and security of the community,” he said about the neighbours.

The unoccupied property had been his parents’ home. His late father, Bill, ran the Assiniboine Valley Railway, a miniature train, in the yard, which also hosted an elaborate Christmas display.

Taylor, who has taken over the property, said the house, a second one on a neighbouring parcel of land, and outbuildings have been ransacked in the last two years.

“I decided we need to clear the site because it’s not safe,” said Taylor, who gave the Free Press a tour Friday. “I don’t want to be on the hook if something horrible happens.”

He is waiting on the city to approve a demolition permit for structures. A crew began clearing trees Tuesday, but the city halted the work one day later because he hadn’t obtained a development permit.

Taylor said he checked the city’s website before the work started and was not aware a permit was required to remove trees on private property. He applied for a permit Wednesday.

“I explained this is a danger to the community,” Taylor said of the property.

He plans to clear about two acres of trees and leave a “thick perimeter” of vegetation.

Taylor was returning home from a vacation in October 2023 when problems surfaced. He was told a work trailer, which was stored on the property, was found behind a house in the North End after being stolen.

He was stunned when he visited his childhood home the next day.

“I showed up to total chaos. The whole place was torn to ribbons. Everything of value was taken,” he said.

Copper and wiring has been removed, graffiti was sprayed on walls, and knives, drug paraphernalia and packs of naloxone, a medication used to reverse an opioid overdose, were scattered inside the house

The basement flooded, resulting in mould, after the power supply was cut to the sump pump.

Taylor said his mother lived part-time in the house at that time, but thankfully wasn’t home when people broke in. The home is set back from Roblin and hidden by trees.

A pickup truck with two men inside drove up to the house while Taylor was on the phone with police. He moved to a place of safety and watched; he later discovered the pair had stolen belongings from an outbuilding.

His wife joined him by the time the truck emerged. She parked her car in the lane and climbed into his vehicle.

Taylor said he was still on the phone with police when one of the men got out of the truck, smashed his wife’s car window and reached inside.

The driver rammed the truck into Taylor’s wife’s car to knock it out of the way, he said.

Police advised the pair not to pursue the men. Officers arrived later and surveyed the damage with Taylor, he said.

A few weeks later, staff from an insurance company were confronted by a man who had a butcher knife and wore a balaclava when he emerged from the house, Taylor said.

He covered windows and doors with plywood, but break-ins, vandalism and fires continue to occur. He said people sprayed “creepy” or “cryptic” graffiti, including his father’s name and dates of birth and death.

Taylor hopes the problems end when the structures are demolished. He decided to clear trees to improve visibility around the property.

Many trees are sick or dead, he said.

Some neighbours weren’t aware of the plans, leaving them with questions when they noticed the tree-clearing work.

“I agree with getting rid of the old structures,” said neighbour John Wardrope.

The city sent inspectors to the property after being informed earlier this week about work taking place, spokeswoman Julie Dooley said.

“A verbal stop order was issued to stop all work and not proceed further until all required development permits are obtained,” she wrote in an email.

The city continues to review the situation, Dooley said.

Taylor doesn’t know what he will do with the site once the work is completed. The property is located under a flight path and inside the Airport Vicinity Protection Area, which limits development.

The Winnipeg Police Service has received multiple reports of break-ins at the property since October 2023, spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said.

No one has been arrested, but investigations continue, he said.

“The location of the vacant house, which is set in a wooded area, makes it an attractive target for thieves to attend and break-in unnoticed,” Chancy wrote in an email to the Free Press.

“Any vacant, unmonitored property in the city that is situated in a wooded area away from the street can be susceptible to trespassers and people looking to break in to steal property or take up as illegal lodging.”

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca