PRESS RELEASE: 25 South Highland Road Walsh Cottage Unauthorized Demolition
PRESS RELEASE
25 South Highland Road Walsh Cottage Unauthorized Demolition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 10, 2024
The Town of Truro was notified that our General Contractor (GC), Cape Cod Builders, Inc., hired by the Town for the rehabilitation of the Cottage House Relocation and Upgrades Project located at 25 South Highland Road, went outside the Scope of the Project and demolished the Walsh Cottage without consulting the Town or the Town’s Construction Administration Consultant, Weston & Sampson Engineers.
Immediately upon notification from the public, the Town’s Department of Public Works (DPW) conducted a site visit the morning of Monday, October 7, 2024. Staff and the Construction Administration Team approached the GC, and the GC identified concerns with the structure that the Town, via Weston & Sampson Engineers, had been made previously aware of. Based on Weston & Sampson Engineers’ Walsh Way Property Assessment Report from March 2022, the Town understood that the 25 South Highland Road Walsh Cottage required significant rehabilitation (see page 57). As purported in the Weston & Sampson Engineers’ Assessment Report, the cottage was a Sears and Roebuck Company kit home constructed between 1900 and 1940, and the structure was meant for seasonal summer occupancy, having uninsulated walls and attics and lacking heat entirely. Lacking continuous occupation, upkeep, and needed repairs, it was not habitable without substantial repair and renovations. Option #3: Phase Construction and Renovation, of the Assessment was selected, as it was the most feasible, cost effective, and least environmentally impactful option (see page 60).