Central Square’s Vail Court coming down to make way for affordable housing

The demolition of the Vail Court building at 139 Bishop Allen Drive in Cambridge’s booming Central Square area is continuing apace as the city seeks to construct affordable, senior, and transitional housing in its place.

Recall that the building had been vacant for years and that the city seized it through eminent domain in September 2016. The family that had owned it—and that got $3.7 million in the seizure—had been squabbling over its fate for a long while.

That same family is now suing over the demolition, meaning that any redevelopment of the site might be delayed—and significantly so. Per analysis from Cambridge Day’s Marc Levy, the construction schedule could now be off by as much as 14 months.

Meanwhile, Central Square continues to slap on new development and yet Cambridge, along with the rest of the region, continues to grapple with a housing crunch. Stay tuned.

• Demolition of blighted Vail Court commences, but housing construction still mired by lawsuit [Day]
• Central Square’s newly built Union House starts leasing [Curbed Boston]
• Boston-area mayors commit to building 185,000 new housing units by 2030 [Curbed Boston]