Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
SOMERVILLE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A near-collapsing house in Somerville’s Union Square will likely be turned into a new condominium.
The two-family house at 32 Webster Ave. was built in the 1890s. It has been abandoned for nearly a decade and slowly deteriorating ever since, with boarded up windows, overgrown plants, and teetering framework. The family who owned the house wanted to demolished it years ago, according to the developer.
During the pandemic, trespassers vandalized the property and it was set on fire at one point.
“All the neighbors are excited to hear about the building being demolished,” Ryan Wittig of Kinvarra Capital, the developer who’s building on the lot, told WBZ NewsRadio. “That’s a 100% fair statement universally.”
The plan for the property is to build a 29 unit apartment building “to serve Somerville’s diverse and growing community,” according to the project proposal.
Wittig mentioned that some of the neighbors were a bit hesitant about the project, but most were happy to clear up the eye-sore that has been the collapsing house.
“We’re getting ready to demolish it here in a month or two,” Wittig said.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.