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Demonstration held for alternative to securing vacant homes
WARREN
It’s not every day one gets to see a city official attempt vandalism.
Mayor Doug Franklin, however, attempted such a feat by swinging a bat at a window in a vacant house, 670 Mercer Ave. NE, in the city’s Garden District on Friday morning. The act was part of a demonstration to showcase a technology as an alternative to plywood for securing vacant houses.
Cleveland-based SecureView provides the patented board-up system. Like plastic glass, the technology is made out of recycled plastic that’s placed over windows and doors.
Howard Wedren, company founder, came up with the idea four years ago when he was working in real-estate development. During that time, he said, there still were a lot of foreclosures and house vacancies in areas such as Chicago. The vacancies made it difficult for some neighborhoods to attract new residents.
“Tenants were afraid to come into the neighborhood because of the board-ups,” Wedren said.
He said his product helps make vacant houses less identifiable but more secured. The benefits would lead to a reduction in crime, property intrusion and squatting, he added.
SecureView also is designed to look like traditional windows, which let in natural light.
This helps first-responders see inside the house in case of an emergency, Wedren said.
“It’s cutting-edge technology,” Franklin said, after his attempt to break through the plastic board-up system.
Franklin said the city would do a cost-benefit analysis of using the system for vacant houses.
The cost to install the system for a single-family house would be $1,200, Wedren said.
The system installed for the demonstration is a donation to the community, he added.
“It looks a lot better than plywood,” said Matt Martin, executive director of Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, a nonprofit organization that seeks to revitalize city neighborhoods.
Martin said there are 1,500 vacant homes in Trumbull County, but many of them are to be demolished. He said vacant homes would be less of an issue within five years, but added that the technology could be used for vacant homes that are kept.
On the other hand, the demonstration is another sign the Garden District neighborhood is making a comeback, Martin said.
“There’s a lot happening down here in this neighborhood,” he said.