?I?ve had enough of this sh-t in my life.
I try to help and this is what I get,? fumed Draginda. He was recently thrust into the media spotlight after an 18-year-old man was stabbed to death earlier this month in Wyser, a building notorious as a neighbourhood crack den.
He said the graffiti, which appeared over the weekend on his east-end home, was the final insult. ?I?
ve had it. Get somebody else to house the homeless and see what happens.?
Wyser Manor, located at 9518 102A Ave., was renovated earlier this year in part with a $925,000 grant from the Edmonton Housing Trust Fund. And Rob Martin, executive director of the trust fund, said Draginda can?
t legally sell Wyser Manor and pocket the grant money. ?He cannot do that,?
Martin said Sunday. ?We have a caveat on the title.
We?re protected.?
?F--k him. I don?
t give a f--k what he says,? Draginda responded, adding the grant was a forgivable loan that can be transferred to another landlord who qualifies to rent to low-income tenants. ?
When my home is vandalized, it?s over.?
Draginda, 50, maintains he put $500,000 into Wyser. ?As it sits, $500,000 of that building is mine.
I built it. I put all my sweat and equity into that building,? he said.
?They can buy me out.?
Mayor Stephen Mandel said Sunday the future of Wyser Manor is between Draginda and the trust fund. But he expressed sympathy over the vandalism of Draginda?s home.
?It?s a shame people would come to his house and do damage,?
Mandel said. ?That?
s really unacceptable conduct.? Besides being the scene of a murder, the block is also under a Capital Health order for several health and safety violations.
Draginda, who claims not to own any other rental properties, wouldn?t say what he will do for a living. ?
I?ll worry about that,? he said.
?I?ll find something to do.
I?ll move out to B.C.
?
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