A Winnipeg property developer said he won’t invest in parts of the North End any longer, after three of his properties were damaged by fire, theft and graffiti in just one week.

"It literally looks like a war zone. Looks like a bomb went off,” said Stefan Aarnio with Archangel Asset Management Ltd., while viewing a house under construction and struck by fire on Pritchard Avenue on April 11.

Flames engulfed the roof, walls and garage of the house Aarnio was rebuilding.

The fire, plus the theft and the graffiti, put him over the edge.

"I'm personally finished with the war zone which is this one part of the North End. I'm still going to do business in Winnipeg. I'm done with this area,” he said.

He said he will no longer redevelop homes west of Main Street, east of Arlington Street, south of Mountain Avenue and north of the train tracks.

Winnipeg police said the house fire on Pritchard is under investigation for arson, and they've recently received several reports of break-ins targeting homes for sale and under renovation in the area.

Royal LePage real estate agent Chantal Cano got a call from police detectives about a theft from a new home on Stella Avenue, the same week she was waiting to close the deal.

Thieves broke into it on two occasions, stripping it bare.

"It was definitely traumatizing,” said Cano. “(The buyers) could back out of the deal, and then we'd have to put it back on the market, knowing that I have to disclose that."

She wants developers to invest in security systems. She said Stella can be a good street for families, especially with a school nearby.

New homes can make all the difference according to The North End Community Renewal Corporation.

"We've seen a lot of change,” said executive director Robert Neufeld “William Whyte area and North Point Douglas - the city's investment has made a tremendous difference."