Somerville Moves To Acquire Armory Building By Eminent Domain

SOMERVILLE, MA — The City Council has green-lit a $5 million proposal from the mayor to acquire the Somerville Armory building on Highland Avenue by eminent domain. The request was approved by a unanimous vote during Thursday's Council meeting.

The plan is to preserve the facility for arts uses, making it the first publicly owned arts and culture center in Somerville.

The building is owned by the Highland Armory Realty Trust and the site has served as the home for the Center for Arts at the Armory and smaller co-tenants, mostly arts-related organizations, since 2005.

However, the pandemic intensified an already brewing financial strain on the property, officials said. By acquiring the building, the city will develop a financially sustainable operating model that will reduce revenue pressure on arts activity and allow it to remain as a community arts center.

"Our city is proud of its commitment to its arts community and this is a chance for us to make a tangible investment in a permanent public space for arts activities," Mayor Joseph Curtatone said in a statement. "We’ll be taking a historic building in the center of our city and making sure it is preserved as a civic institution. Projects like this are how we make sure the arts thrive in Somerville and remain accessible to all residents. It’s a practical investment in an essential portion of our community."

Overhead costs often create barriers for arts organizations to find a permanent home, and state laws limit the ability for the city to provide operating subsidies to cover a non-profit's operational costs. Officials said the acquisition will create permanently affordable arts space to both support local artists during the pandemic recovery and strengthen the arts community in the future.

"I am thrilled and delighted that the City Council has voted to support the mayor's request to take the Armory by eminent domain," Ward 5 City Councilor Mark Niedergang said in a statement. "The Armory is one of the most important places in Somerville for community events and gatherings of all kinds and, of course, for arts programming. Losing the Armory as a community space and a center for the arts would be a devastating blow to culture and public life in Somerville. I look forward to the Armory and the Center for Arts at the Armory thriving even more than they have in the past with financial support from the city."

Now that the bond has been approved, the city can execute the eminent domain filing. The city must assume control of the property within 30 days of the vote.