PEMBROKE — Oct. 7, 2026 — Pembroke will seek to demolish the Turner House instead of relocating it after the town manager told the Select Board on Wednesday that the building’s frame crumbles to the touch and is unsafe to move. The board voted unanimously to authorize a demolition permit, which the town manager said goes next to a town commission hearing.
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Pembroke had already built a roadway and poured a foundation to receive the Turner House, which must make way for the new public safety building. Town Manager Bill Chenard said the plan collapsed when the moving company asked crews to strip some siding so it could add stabilizing pieces for the move, exposing a frame that had failed.
The house is balloon-framed with 1-inch dimensional lumber rather than typical 2-by-4s, he said. The town’s engineers, the general contractor, the owner’s project manager and the building inspector all found it unsafe, and the general contractor and building inspector said they would keep people out of it.
So at this point, we are going to be filing a demo permit to demo the building. It’s our only choice.
— William Chenard, Town Manager 1:03:49
The only way to move the house would be to essentially rebuild it, which the town cannot afford, Chenard said, and doing so would delay the public safety project and run up millions of dollars in delay and general-conditions costs. He told the board he did not need its vote but wanted its support, and Dan Trabucco asked for the board’s position in writing so the commission would see the board favors demolition. The unanimous voice vote authorizes the permit.
Chenard said he would try to file the permit the next day and that the Historical District Commission had promised to try to schedule a hearing the following week. Depending on whether the waiting period is waived, the process could take as long as six weeks, he said. Asked about an emergency request, he said the town can seek one, but a commission vote against demolition would bring major delays and costs on the public safety project. Trabucco noted the building inspector can declare an emergency demolition but urged the board to follow the process.
Steve Ciciotti put the money already spent on the move at $125,000, and Chenard said that figure was probably not far off. Asbestos removal, estimated at $100,000, is needed whether the house is moved or demolished, he said. Board members’ estimates of what the town saves by skipping the move ranged from about $150,000 to $300,000 or $400,000, and the town manager said the savings could be larger because the town will not install septic, electrical or water service at the new site.
Literally, we went and looked at it. When you touch the wood, it just crumbles into dust in your hand.
— William Chenard, Town Manager 1:08:38
Ciciotti asked that people attached to the house be offered pieces of it at no cost to the town. The town manager said he would meet with a member of one such group the next morning and hoped to meet with the historical society.
