The Somerville Media Center is now a permanent resident of Somernova, a 7.4-acre business campus in Somerville’s Ward 2 neighborhood, according to a joint press release Monday.
The center – which serves the city with original television, radio and online programming and media training – came to Somernova on a temporary basis in August with a week to go before its deadline to vacate 90-92 Union Square. It was in that space for 38 years until a city order declared the building unsafe.
The permanent home is in 5,000 square feet at 29 Properzi Way, twice the size of its current temporary Somernova space at 12 Tyler St.
“This is a huge step forward for SMC,” said Jesse Buckley, president of the Somerville Media Center’s board of directors, in the press release. “I’m really excited for SMC’s past, present and future members to rediscover the power of collaboration with new tools, and in a new studio. This is something we will all be building and discovering together, and it is possible in large part thanks to Somernova and the City of Somerville.”
The move is a chance to “rejuvenate our organization” in building a state-of-the-art studio and implementing a strategic plan, Buckley said.
Executive director
That includes finding a new executive director after the departure of Kat Powers from that role Feb. 29. Powers, a former editor at the Somerville Journal, had been in the role since Dec. 14, 2020. “Transitions like these require us to look inward and occasionally make difficult decisions,” Buckley said in a letter at the time, citing guidance from consultants and the board’s personnel committee in coming “to understand that SMC requires a fresh set of leadership skills to guide us through this period and beyond.”
The director reports directly to the board in handling the center’s day-to-day operations, administration, fundraising and staff supervision. A search is underway and could be complete this summer, Buckley said.
The departure came with “mixed emotions,” Buckley said, as Powers’ “passion and dedication have been indispensable, and her absence will be deeply felt. We owe Kat our heartfelt thanks for her contributions to SMC and her willingness to place the Somerville Media Center’s interests above her own.”
Powers, in a LinkedIn post, called it “a very intense three years” that included reopening from a Covid pandemic shutdown.
Plans and price pending
The center’s expansion is good for its local nonprofit partners too, Buckley said, and this summer, the center will host a 40-person, five-week Youth Creator Club program in collaboration with The Dojo, Somernova’s kids center. Collin Yip, managing director of Somernova owner Rafi Properties, said Monday that having the center onsite contributed to his idea of a “holistic campus where innovators from all background and industries can collaborate, grow and give back to the community.”
Move-in for the new space is hoped for in November, though plans and pricing are still coming together. With production equipment becoming increasingly digital and compact, the square footage at 29 Properzi Way – until 2010, an Ames Safety Envelope factory – will be the same size as when studios were in Union Square, but more “open concept,” Buckley said. That means better lines of sight into studios and classrooms and a flexible communal space that can host screenings and other community-building events. It’s the “heart of the plan,” he said, “almost more important than actual production facilities.”
Established in 1983, the center is home to local access channel SCATV and has hosted programming such as “Dead Air Live” – the longest-running show in U.S. cable access history – and “Let’s Talk About Race,” an award-winning broadcast and podcast focused on racial dialogues and historical analysis.
Diane Wong, producer of “Let’s Talk About Race” since 2017 and director of the nonprofit Racial Justice Collaborative, said the move wasn’t “just changing locations; we’re stepping into a realm of even greater possibilities.”
A stronger
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