SOMERVILLE, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) - More than a dozen businesses in Somerville's Davis Square are closed until further notice while repair is done on an old building.
The old Social Security building at 240 Elm Street is structurally unsafe according to the Mayor Joseph Curtatone.
In 2013 the parapet partially collapsed, the owner then put up scaffolding but was putting off major repairs until they had a tenant.
That was until the city filed an application for a criminal complaint against them in April.
Structural engineers were brought in to review the safety and they determined that the walls are so precarious that it is unsafe for people to be in the streets around the building.
Now, Elm street is closed down to cars between Dover and Grover Streets. Pedestrians cannot walk past the building either.
The Davis Square portion of Highland Avenue will be made into a two-way street to help move traffic along.
Mayor Curtatone said the road will be opened as soon as the area is safe, but there is no timeline for that.
Cox Media Group
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