A list of stakeholders and a timeline for the future disposition of The Somerville Armory have been established.

By Jeffrey Shwom

In an effort to provide further detail to our readers, we offer the following list of stakeholders and timeline for ongoing conversation about the future of The Somerville Armory.

List of Key Stakeholders

The Somerville Armory – the physical space at 191 Highland Avenue, which has at least five independent current tenants, including the Center for the Arts at the Armory and Acoustic Strings of New England.

The Center for the Arts at The Armory (“Arts at the Armory”) – a community non-profit “serving Somerville and the Greater Boston community through arts, cultural and community events, exhibitions, markets, classes and more.” They host five signature programs, including The Spotlight Series and the Somerville Winter Farmers Market.

The City of Somerville – current owner and landlord of The Somerville Armory. The city hosts three other program spaces at the Somerville Armory through SomArt, a Somerville Arts Council program that provides “subsidized space for artist work space under the umbrella of city government” for 200 local working artists.

Timeline

2008 – The Sater family completes a 4-year repurposing and historical preservation effort as The Somerville Armory transitions to a community arts center. Arts at the Armory becomes the anchor tenant, per the Arts at The Armory website.

June 2021 – The City of Somerville takes over The Somerville Armory through eminent domain “to preserve…as a community art space,” and pays $5 million, per boston.com.

June 30, 2023 – The Arts at the Armory’s lease expires, per executive director Stephanie Scherpf via email.

August 15, 2023 – The Arts at the Armory hosts roughly 100 people for a community meeting to discuss “perspective on the City of Somerville’s ‘Armory Master Plan Process.” 1,175 signatures were later collected as a petition calls for four concrete steps, including having a third party operate the Somerville Armory and the City of Somerville to abandon its current position as owner and operator.

January 24, 2024 – At one of four Armory Master Plan Community Meetings hosted by the city, discussion points presented include feedback that “community members express appreciation for the independent nature of the management structure in which Arts at the Armory curates the main hall and café” and “concern for the idea of the city managing a physical asset like this … it risks it becoming a ‘second annex’ to City Hall.” Information found in public record.

May 15, 2024 – The city hosts an Armory Community Meeting and presents three options for future organizational operations: a non-profit organization operates it, having a quasi-municipal trust, or creation or move into a city department. Wish list items presented include preserving a low-cost space and balancing short term uses with longer term tenants.

June 7, 2024 – The Armory Master Plan Survey, created by the Arts at the Armory, gets 221 responses, with 74% of respondents saying the City of Somerville should not be the building manager and 79% of respondents saying the Arts at the Armory should be the building manager. However, it also suggests that respondents favor the City of Somerville to fund some capital needs, even if it does not operate and own the Somerville Armory.

September 4, 2024 – Arts at the Armory reports that the Legal department within the City of Somerville “is putting its final touches on our License Agreement.” Meetings with Somerville Arts Council and the city’s OSCPD department continue.

November 8, 2024 – Arts at the Armory received a License Agreement and Support Letter, not a new lease, for the three spaces within the Armory at $7,582 per month, based on the Arts at the Armory website.

November 14, 2024 – At the City of Somerville’s City Council meeting, a resolution by Councilors Sait and Wilson was made “That the Administration, in its capacity as owner and landlord of The Armory, ensure that all tenants of the facility are offered legal leases or licenses.” Councilor Sait stressed frustration with “a lack of progress” and noted that the Arts at the Armory “cannot apply for much needed grants and book events in the far future” with just the license agreements. Furthermore, an executed License Agreement and Support Letter from the City was received at 7:11 p.m. by Arts at the Armory during the City Council meeting, as reported by Stephanie Scherpf.

December 31, 2024 – promised City of Somerville deadline for a finalized and approved “Armory Master Plan” by City Council.

July 1, 2025 – The city’s goal is to have leases in place by this date, per a November 6, 2024 comfort letter from Mayor Ballantyne.