Cambridge council approves $20 million to demolish unstable Riverview building at 221 Mount Auburn St.

The Cambridge City Council on Wednesday approved a $20,000,000 appropriation to fund demolition of 221 Mount Auburn Street after engineering reports concluded the building is structurally unsafe and cannot be repaired.

The city moved to pay for the work now "to protect public health and public safety," Mayor Simmons said at the start of the special meeting called to consider the manager's request. The council voted to transfer $20,000,000 from the general fund employee benefits salary and wages account to the general fund reserve extraordinary expenditure account; the motion carried on an affirmative vote recorded as eight in favor, one absent.

The appropriation responds to structural inspections commissioned by the Riverview condominium association and by outside consultants. Anne Saada, president of the Riverview and Cambridge Condominium Trust and a former resident of the building, told the council that the association's investigation "indicated that our main building is at risk of uncontrolled collapse." Saada and other owners said they evacuated the 9‑story, 65‑unit building in December 2024 and lack the funds to demolish it.

Deputy City Manager Kathy Watkins and city staff described the engineering findings and the city's process. Watkins said investigators found that reinforcing steel in the building was "consistently about 2 inches lower than they were specified to be" and that the concrete averaged roughly 2,000 pounds per square inch where 3,000 psi would have been expected. Those defects, consultants concluded, made full repair infeasible and led to the conclusion that "the building needed to be demolished," Watkins said.

Watkins and city staff said demolition will be complex and costly beyond standard concrete removal because the structure contains asbestos and other hazardous material. Watkins estimated hazardous disposal could increase removal costs about five to ten times the typical disposal cost, and she described the $20 million as "a pretty conservative number" intended to ensure the city can hire contractors, engineers and environmental consultants and move work forward before winter snowloads increase risk.

City Solicitor Megan Bear told the council the city may act under state dangerous‑building authority in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 143. "This is in place for the purposes of protecting public safety," Bear said, and described the statutory path that allows the city to abate a dangerous building and later recover costs. Bear said the city plans to file a court action in the coming days to secure a court order confirming the city's authority before demolition work proceeds.

Bear and staff explained how the city would seek to recover demolition costs. Under the statute, costs become a debt owed to the city; if unpaid, the city can record the debt at the registry of deeds and create a lien on the property with a priority similar to a tax lien. Staff said that, if necessary, the city could use tax‑title procedures to force a sale to recover unpaid costs. The deputy city manager said information provided to the city indicates the land value would be in excess of $20,000,000.

Several residents spoke during public comment. Harriet Griesinger, an 85‑year‑old former resident who said she had been paying taxes in Cambridge since 1971, said many owners are elderly and will face large charges on tax bills to repay the city. Resident Shane Rowerdink said detour traffic around the site is increasing speeding on nearby streets and asked the city to treat detour routes as part of the demolition safety plan.

Councilors asked for more details about timeline, funding and neighborhood impacts. Chief Financial Officer Claire Spinner explained the interim transfer from the employee benefits account is a temporary measure because the city's free cash balance is not yet certified by the state; staff plan to replace the transfer with a free‑cash appropriation after certification in the fall. Staff also said they will post FAQs and hold further community meetings; Watkins noted a public Zoom community meeting was scheduled for July 24.

The council also placed the city manager's second communication on file and rejected a motion to reconsider the appropriation. The council then closed public comment and adjourned.

Votes at a glance: The council approved the city manager's agenda item (CMA 2025‑1‑86) appropriating $20,000,000 for demolition work at 221 Mount Auburn Street. Motion by Councilor Nolan; second not specified in the public record. Recorded vote: eight in favor, one absent. The council placed a related communication on file (CMA 2025‑1‑87) by recorded vote of nine in the affirmative.

Why this matters: City officials said the action is aimed at immediate public safety risk from an unstable multi‑story building adjacent to homes and public ways, and it begins a process that staff said will include complex hazardous‑material abatement, structural engineering, permitting with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and a parallel court process to resolve ownership and lien issues. The appropriation authorizes the city to proceed with planning and contracting while preserving statutory mechanisms to recover costs from property owners.

What happens next: City staff and outside consultants will develop demolition contracts and environmental permits, seek DEP approvals for asbestos work, and move contractors on site with the stated goal of significant demolition work before winter. The city indicated it will seek to recover costs from owners under M.G.L. Chapter 143 and will monitor an expected Land Court partition action by the condo association that staff said could take at least a year to resolve.