The grand opening of the Somerville Media Center’s new facility drew several notable attendees ~Photos by Jesse Buckley

The Somerville Media Center (SMC) held a grand opening and ribbon cutting event on Wednesday, February 26, to celebrate its first brand-new community media facility in 42 years.

Over 100 guests attended a special invitation-only grand opening event featuring remarks from Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, Board President Joseph Lynch, and Executive Director Sean Effel, and followed with tours of the new studio facilities.  Several elected officials, including four Somerville mayors, attended the event along with board members, staff, members, and other longtime supporters of SMC’s work.

SMC left its longtime home in 2023 when the city-owned building was declared unsafe to occupy and relocated to a temporary space on the Somernova campus.  After securing a lease on 4800 sq. ft. of commercial space from the owner of Rafi Properties, SMC engaged an architecture firm, general contractor, specialty vendors, and video engineers to bring its new home at 29 Properzi Way to life.

Governor Healey posted a special congratulatory video as well: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aQ3xEGzzwt74NJR5YQwOJMB9CXhzPUtK/view?usp=sharing

Looking ahead to the future, Somerville Media Center is preparing to relaunch programs and services for the community, including providing residents with access to over $170,000 of new production equipment, three recording studios, brand new training and education programs, as well as expanding the depth and scope of its after school and summer programs for children in Somerville.

Go to https://www.somervillemedia.org to learn more about SMC.