Anticipation and speculation replaces trepidation at 221 Mount Auburn St., where condo owners were forced to flee a massive building that could collapse at any time.
The empty lot once known as the 66-home Riverview Condominiums is expected to be returned to its owners within two to four weeks, but there’s no identified timeline for redevelopment of the site, Cambridge city staff say in a report to city councillors expected to be heard Monday.
The state’s Land Court has appointed a commissioner to oversee a sale of the parcel, including reimbursing the city for demolition expenses estimated at $12 million. Staff said a new owner will develop proposals for redeveloping the Riverview site, where demolition took place from December through February.
The building overlooking the Charles River was evacuated in November 2024 after prep work for roof repairs in 2023 suggested problems and engineer inspections revealed their extent.
Construction in the 1960s that failed to follow approved plans for the building’s concrete slabs put the Riverview at risk of collapse, engineers said.
When estimates for the cost of repairs were put at around $73.2 million, the condo association’s board of trustees instead opted to turn to the city for help demolishing the structure – a cost estimated at upward of $8.8 million.
The city authorized a total $20 million on July 23 – called by staff a “conservative estimate to address contingencies” – and came in lower, with $10.5 million of the expense going to demolition and traffic detour work. Because part of a neighboring building had to be evacuated during several weeks of the demolition, the city spent $250,000 to reimburse temporary relocations for 17 households.
Debris and other building material amounted to 11,500 tons removed in more than 365 truckloads, all but 4 percent of it containing the asbestos that added complication to the work. Among the waste was 400 tons, or 49 truckloads, of scrap metal for recycling, according to the staff report.
What could come next
Current zoning for the site doesn’t automatically allow construction of a building as tall as the nine-story Riverview; the Residence C2 designation allows multifamily housing only up to seven stories, or 85 feet, staff said in the report. But the rear section of the lot can be built on too.
The rear section holds the three-story, 14-home Bradbury Building at 22-28 Bradbury St., which was built of wood and brick and didn’t have Riverview’s problems with concrete slabs. It had to be evacuated as part of the demolition because it shared Riverview utilities.
The Residence C1 zoning on Bradbury Street allows for multifamily housing up to six stories if the project includes homes affordable to low- and moderate-income households under city inclusionary housing laws. Those laws apply to developments of at least 10,000 square feet or with 10 homes.
Projects bigger than 75,000 square feet require special permit approval by the Planning Board, including public hearings, staff said.
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