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Fears of Cambridge condo building collapse prompt Memorial Drive lane closure
City officials ordered the building’s demolition last month, declaring it “currently in a condition that is unsafe and dangerous to life and limb.”
Memorial Drive is losing part of a lane indefinitely amid concerns that a large — and structurally compromised — Cambridge condominium building could collapse.
Starting Saturday and continuing until further notice, the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation said it will close the right lane of Memorial Drive westbound between Hawthorn Street and Gerrys Landing Road. The closure comes as Cambridge prepares for the demolition of the troubled 66-unit Riverview building on Mount Auburn Street, which was evacuated in a hurry last year following the discovery of structural deficiencies in its concrete.
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The city is also closing smaller segments of Mount Auburn Street and Sparks Street due to their proximity to the condo building, sidewalks included. Access will be maintained for direct abutters, and a map of closures and detours is available on the Cambridge website.
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Riverview’s structural deficiencies were first uncovered in 2023 during exploratory work for roof and drainage repairs, according to the city. After evaluating its options, the condo association concluded repairs wouldn’t be feasible and demolition was the only viable choice.
“Even with the removal of people and furniture from the building, analysis indicates potentially dangerous building conditions,” according to a presentation city leaders shared during a community meeting last week. Those conditions include substandard concrete and poor reinforcement, an engineering review found.
City officials ordered the building’s demolition last month, telling the owners it is “currently in a condition that is unsafe and dangerous to life and limb, and therefore must be removed.”
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Cambridge anticipates the engineering and permitting phase will take about six to eight weeks, with the demolition itself requiring 12 to 16 weeks, according to last week’s presentation. The slides also touched on the need for an environmental consultant “to address hazardous building materials like asbestos,” given Riverview was built in the 1960s.
It is not clear yet when demolition will begin.
Earlier this year, the building’s condo board asked Cambridge to step in for the complex and expensive demolition process, The Boston Globe reported. According to the Globe, the city plans to use public funds to pay for the demolition, level the building by the end of the year, and recover expenses during a future sale of the property.
A virtual community meeting to discuss neighborhood updates is scheduled for July 24.
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