The City of Boston plans to open temporary music and art studios at 290 North Beacon St. in Brighton next summer, WBUR reported Nov. 6. The city will convert a warehouse on the property using $1.25 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds originally meant for demolition, according to WBUR.
Related: 105 Affordable Apartments Cleared for Former Mattapan Garage on Blue Hill Ave..
What the pilot space will include
The space will contain 17 studios, a large flexible community space, bathrooms, an office, a kitchenette and an outdoor area for events, WBUR reported. Architecture firm ISA is leading the design, according to WBUR. The building is under construction and is on track to be completed in December, the station reported.
The city will release a request for proposals to select an operator for the space, according to WBUR. The city first presented the plan at a public meeting on Oct. 29, WBUR reported. The pilot details in this report come from WBUR and have not been independently confirmed by The Boston Report.
Why the city is moving now
The Boston Housing Authority, working with the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, is the designated developer of the site, which sits next to the authority’s Faneuil Gardens development, according to the housing authority. The permanent project will combine new rental apartments with replacement music studios and other arts space, the housing authority said.
The city has said it will build 40,000 square feet of publicly owned music rehearsal space there alongside permanently affordable housing, according to a City of Boston meeting notice. Rising construction costs and a complex financing picture mean that project will take years to complete, WBUR reported.
“We were hearing a steady drumbeat from artists about the need for space now,” Boston Housing Authority Administrator Kenzie Bok said, according to WBUR.
Musicians’ concerns
The city acquired the property in 2023 with a promise to replace rehearsal space lost when the Sound Museum in Brighton closed, WBUR reported. The temporary studios will not be fully soundproofed, according to WBUR.
“We need rehearsal space, affordable rehearsal space,” Somerville musician and voice teacher Ajda Snyder, who was displaced from the Sound Museum, told WBUR.
Ami Bennitt, a leader of the arts advocacy group Art Stays Here, told WBUR she wanted to make sure the site’s original purpose was preserved. “I don’t want to lose sight of the original promise,” Bennitt said.
What the city said about the permanent plan
Joseph Henry, the city’s chief of arts and culture, reiterated the commitment to 40,000 square feet of permanent rehearsal space, WBUR reported. “We will obviously always prioritize the needs of musicians,” Henry said, according to WBUR. He said the pilot would let the city test configurations and booking systems before a long-term commitment.
For more local coverage, see the Boston News hub and the City Hall decisions tracker.
Sources
- WBUR: City to pilot music and arts space in Brighton
- Boston Housing Authority: 290 North Beacon
- City of Boston: 290 North Beacon Street Public Meeting
Read next in Boston Local News
Most read this week
- Abdul El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood Claims: What’s Confirmed and What Isn’t
- Stock Futures Erase a 2.4% Overnight Drop as Markets Digest Democrats’ Sweep of Congress
- Spain Transport Minister Óscar Puente Quits 26 Days Before Election Over Crash That Killed 69
- Boston Plans to Close 3 Schools in 2028 as Enrollment Drops as Much as 58%
- GM Korea’s Sales Jump 26.6% on Chevrolet Exports as Hyundai Slips 6.3% and Korean Factory Growth Cools
Latest
- Taiwan Detains Small Communist Party’s Chief Over Alleged Chinese Funding Before Nov. 28 Elections
- France Says Europeans Will Join U.S.-Mediated Ukraine Talks in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10–11
- Russian Strikes Cut Power to About 850,000 in Ukraine as Zaporizhzhia Plant Loses Outside Supply
- Heavy Rain Floods Tents Across Gaza as Aid Groups Warn of Worsening Conditions
- Organizers Say 200,000 Joined Amsterdam’s Red Line March on Gaza; AP Reports Tens of Thousands