Clear polycarbonate sheet secures vacant structures (with related video)

SecureView Clearboarding is a clear polycarbonate window and door boarding system that helps secure and protect vacant and abandoned properties. It is made from recycled materials and is virtually unbreakable. It protects a property from intrusion and reduces the crime and squatting often associated with plywood and steel board-ups. This site has more information.

Designed to look like glass, the product provides clear views while letting in natural light. This, in turn, enhances marketability and protects neighborhood property values. The product also improves safety by allowing first responders to see inside the property in the event of an emergency.

The product has been installed on nearly 50,000 properties in more than 3,000 communities. Contractors can modify the boarding material on site to fit any window or door. The polycarbonate sheet material is quickly and easily installed using a simple, but effective compression bolt system. SecureView is available nationwide at more than 60 locations and can be delivered within 24 hours of placing an order.

For decades, plywood has been the standard material for boarding vacant and abandoned properties, but it has become the ugly and stigmatizing symbol of community blight. Plywood announces that a building is vacant and abandoned, sending a distress signal of a neighborhood in trouble. Studies have shown that boarding a property with plywood significantly impacts surrounding properties on an otherwise stable street and immediately devalues the occupied properties by as much as 20 to 25 percent.

Conventional plywood boarding can be easily removed. This provides an open invitation to vandals and squatters. The plywood usually requires re-boarding as often as three times or more. These properties often become hubs for crime, drug activity, and squatters, requiring constant attention from code enforcement, police and fire. They end up placing a strain on city and community resources and budgets. For first responders, plywood-boarded properties are a safety hazard as rescuers can’t see inside when arriving on the scene.

The technology and design make SecureView an effective solution for both lenders and communities by securing the property, protecting the asset, and increasing its marketability. This, in turn, stabilizes neighborhoods and helps to fight community blight.

In the video, Chicago city officials, including 15th Ward Alderman Raymond Lopez, demonstrate how SecureView Clearboarding provides security on a vacant home. Officials outline the benefits of the technology, that is less expensive than boarding with plywood.

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