A community benefits agreement for redevelopment at Somernova looked solidly approved Thursday with 71 percent of the votes of participating residents, workers, volunteers and property owners in the Somerville neighborhoods surrounding the tech startup complex.
That agreement offers arts spaces, union labor requirements and a youth community center in exchange for a 10-year expansion. Somernova is on Somerville Avenue in Ward 2 between Porter and Union squares.
The Union Square Neighborhood Council, the city-recognized neighborhood group that facilitated the negotiation process with developer Rafi Properties, announced the results Thursday after Wednesday voting at St. Anthony’s School. According to a provisional vote tally published by the group, there were 2,208 ballots, and the 1,566 in favor surpassed the required two-thirds majority required by the group’s bylaws.
The group says it will release final results once the 37 outstanding ballots have been counted and verified.
Rafi, led by Collin Yip, has wanted for years to redevelop Somernova’s 7.4 acres to make more space for its climate tech startup tenants, which includes business incubators The Engine and Greentown Labs, along with a portfolio of companies such as Form Energy, a battery manufacturer that has raised more than $1.2 billion as of 2024. Somernova is also known for popular brewery Aeronaut and Boston Bouldering Project, as well as The Dojo, a youth center fully funded by Somernova and whose existence might hinge on the proposed zoning being passed.
The vote, which tries to balance tech startup growth with preventing the displacement of arts and music sectors, is the first major decision to be made about the potential redevelopment. The next step for Somernova is a city-led four-part zoning amendments process.
Requiring a two-thirds majority from the City Council, the amendments would revise the complex’s base zoning from a Fabrication designation – created in 2019 to protect affordable arts spaces from residential redevelopment – to a new Research & Development designation with an “Arts and Innovation Subarea” overlay that allows for taller buildings while mandating that 8 percent of commercial space be set aside for arts use.
The terms of the community benefits agreement depend on the still-in-progress zoning amendments. In a council Land Use Committee meeting Thursday after preliminary voting results became known, interim city planning director Daniel Bartman reminded councilors that the benefits are a contract between the neighborhood and the developer, not with the city.
“The zoning itself is what should be analyzed and assessed for whether you all support it, agnostic of the community benefits agreement, from a legal perspective,” Bartman said.
Voters were eligible based on their membership in the neighborhood council or whether they live, work, volunteer or own a business within 1,000 feet of Somernova’s boundaries.
A stronger
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This is a terrible proposal that benefits the developer at the expense of the neighborhood. If the city wants a community center (which is a great idea), it should support one that isn’t at the whim of a developer. It’s a false choice. Could allowing workers (many of whom are current tenants of Somernova) to vote on this have skewed the results? The actual neighbors quoted in the article seem to oppose the scale of the development, as do I.
This is a great proposal that brings community and arts space, green tech labs, and much-needed housing to the neighborhood.
It’s no surprise most people voted “yes”—the community recognizes a good opportunity.
@Ferguson
The Bouldering Project, The Dojo, Art Stays Here, Greentown Labs, and The Engine all supported CBA/Somernova.
So yes, current tenants as well as neighbors (71%) were all in favor of the CBA.
Ideally, the city would not need to change zoning to allow this project. Ideally, a project like this would be allowed by right with a clear set of taxes and fees that are known in advance. The city could then use the resulting revenue to fund and operate arts and community spaces on its own.
Instead we have overly-restrictive building rules that require lengthy negotiations through intermediaries like the Neighborhood Council. At the same time, the city lacks both management capacity and revenue to operate the services it wants. So we have this elaborate horse-trading deal, with all the delay and uncertainty and risk that implies.
It turned out well in this case: arts, business, labor, transit, and housing advocates all get a piece, and the project is built. But it could have been simpler and faster.