The demolition of a multifamily home at 66 Kinnaird St. was halted until further notice Monday when neighbors reported the site for a lack of safety measures. After calls from residents, Cambridge’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD) confirmed the demolition began without required permits and ordered work to stop. The contractor will also receive a citation for violating the permit requirements and neglecting to give proper notice of construction. 

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“I shouldn’t have to police this, I’m a citizen!” Riverside resident Lawrence Adkins said in a phone interview. “Why does any citizen have to police physical actions that the city should be responsible for?” 

Adkins, a member of the neighborhood group Principles Impacted Riverside Residents, called ISD Monday after receiving complaints from neighbors about debris at the demolition site. Adkins described an encounter by one resident whose car was almost struck by debris as she drove by. The construction site had no police detail or road or sidewalk closures in place. 

The demolition is part of a development project including 66 and 68 Kinnaird St. at the corner of Jay St. in the Riverside neighborhood. The previous owners sold the properties to a developer in September 2024, records show, and a demolition permit was issued in May 2025, according to city staff. That owner then sold the property again, to Newton development group Arco Homes. City staff could not confirm the date of the second sale. 

“[Arco Homes] assumed that they could take over the permits from the prior developer, including the demolition permit,” Cambridge spokesperson Jeremy Warnick said in a phone interview. “That is not the case. They would have to reapply for new permits.”

Arco Homes did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Proper demolition protocol requires a notification to the city at least 48 hours before construction begins. The city also requires permits for sidewalk obstruction and use of parking spaces, compliance with dust control procedures, and a variety of site safety measures. 

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The demolition violation raised concern from residents about the process for projects considered as-of-right under the city’s multifamily housing zoning, which awaits a vote on amendments proposed last month. The Kinnaird St. project is slated to be a four-story multifamily residential building. 

“I am concerned we are in ‘a learn as we go environment’ with the holes in the ‘build by right’ rules emerging on a development by development basis,” Kinnaird St. resident Nancy Carpenter said in an email sent to city councillor Cathie Zusy and shared with Cambridge Day. 

Carpenter wrote that this standard makes the neighborhood “the loser each step along the way.”

Zusy’s office is tracking all active and potential redevelopments under the multifamily zoning and will be following demolition projects like the one at Kinnaird St.

“For the sake of public health, we need the city to be overseeing these demolitions,” Zusy said in an email to Cambridge Day. “Neighbors should not be responsible for reporting problems with ISD.”

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