Theaters, art galleries, studios, venues, and other spaces dedicated to arts and culture are central to Somerville’s identity and economy. Supporting the artist community means supporting the cultural infrastructure that provides arts education, workspaces, live-work space, and live entertainment. Since 2005, the City of Somerville has made significant progress through zoning policies(opens in new tab) that encourage the development of a wide range of creative spaces. However, the City has also learned that zoning alone is not enough to keep these spaces affordable and available over time. 

In recent years, higher-value commercial and residential development has increased pressure on the operations of creative spaces, putting several at risk of displacement. A 2022 study(opens in new tab) found that when displacement occurs, existing municipal tools are not sufficient to replace creative space at the same rate. Currently, more space is at risk of displacement than current zoning requirements can produce. 

As traditional real estate market constraints continue to limit opportunities for the artists to secure affordable space, and as existing municipal tools and processes limit municipalities’ ability to steward these resources effectively, the City of Somerville is exploring a new tool: a Municipal Cultural Trust(opens in new tab). This approach adapts a tool piloted by Somerville to address similar challenges in preserving and expanding affordable housing, an affordable housing trust, and applies it to the pressing issue of creative space displacement. 

Similar to an affordable housing trust, a Cultural Trust would establish a dedicated municipal board able to secure financial and real property resources proactively, make investments, and protect cultural assets over the long term instead of responding to crises one project at a time. 

The proposed Cultural Trust would be able to:  

• • Raise and hold financial capital and real property, including developer contributions, community benefit agreements, donations, grants, and potentially linkage fees or local tax revenues, to leverage resources for creative space development.  
  • Acquire and hold deed restrictions for arts and creative uses. 
  • Invest in and manage municipal cultural facilities.  
  • Disburse resources for purposes aligned with the mission of the trust. 

Through its board, the trust would also create a municipal governance structure for stewarding local cultural spaces that includes both City representatives and members of the arts community, ensuring that decisions are informed by those most affected. 

This is an innovative approach for municipalities in the Commonwealth, as no statewide legal framework currently allows municipalities to establish a cultural trust. The Creative Space Act would establish such a framework, but did not pass during the current legislative cycle. The City is now pursuing a home-rule petition to create its own cultural trust.