What to know about the Belmont condo building evacuated due to structural concerns

A building at 125 Trapelo Road in Belmont that was evacuated on Friday. (Christiana Botic for The Boston Globe)

August 18, 2021

2 minutes to read

With the Miami collapse still fresh, 75 Belmont residents were evacuated from a condo building after engineers found structural concerns.

The seven-story building at 125 Trapelo Rd. was inspected by a structural engineering firm after residents noticed cracks in the structure, 7 News Boston reported. After receiving a preliminary report on the findings and consulting the condo association trustees, Great Property Management CEO Lou Gargiulo contacted the Belmont Fire Department to evacuate all 42 condos on Aug. 13.

According to 7 News, an unnamed resident took a video of a crack spreading in her sixth-floor apartment about two weeks ago.

“We investigated concerns that were expressed, retained a structural engineering firm, and took their recommendations,” Gargiulo told 7 News. “The safety of our residents is our most primary concern.”

Belmont Assistant Town Administrator Jon Marshall told Boston 25 News the timeline for residents’s return is uncertain.

“It’s got to be very difficult waiting and not knowing,” Marshall said. “We’re still waiting for information from an independent assessment done Monday. The town has not received information from the structural engineer that was hired by the management company to do that work. So, we’re unfortunately waiting at this point based on that determination.”

Caution tape surrounds the entrance to a building at 125 Trapelo Road in Belmont that was evacuated on Friday. – (Christiana Botic for The Boston Globe)

According to property records, the building was built in 1963 and is owned by 125 Trapelo LLC. Gargiulo told 7 News the building’s roof was sold to a telecommunications company, and the preliminary report indicated that equipment may be the cause of the structural issues, though an investigation is ongoing.

“They just keep putting more and more equipment. There’s no limitation,” resident Bai Fang told 7 News. “They don’t care about the people living in the building.”

On Aug. 13, residents had only a little time to grab what they could and get out.

“I came home and I got everything that we could and we are waiting for a place to stay overnight because probably it will take until tomorrow or until Monday, we don’t know yet,” resident Nate Madeiros told 7 News.

Local and state agencies are working to support the displaced residents. According to the Belmont Citizen-Herald, the town, Metro Housing – Boston, the Belmont Housing Trust, the state Department of Housing and Community Development, and Belmont Helps have come together to collect donations.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) set up a Recovery Resource Center at the Belmont Senior Center, Boston 25 News reported, and the Salvation Army also showed up with its Emergency Disaster Services truck, offering hot meals and essentials.

“We’re providing food and clothing vouchers to folks because they weren’t really able to grab things from their apartments,” said Emily Mew, state coordinator for the Emergency Disaster Services Department of the Salvation Army. “There’s a variety of resources here that will help those who kind of don’t know what’s next.”