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Somerville to seek $2.5 million MassWorks award for civic space at 299 Broadway

2397244 · February 26, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

The finance committee recommended accepting a $2.5 million MassWorks grant to support creation of publicly accessible civic space as part of the 299 Broadway redevelopment project.

The Somerville Finance Committee on Feb. 25 recommended approval to accept and expend $2,500,000 from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development (a MassWorks grant) to support creation of publicly accessible civic spaces at the 299 Broadway redevelopment.

Senior Planner Ben Demers said the funds will be administered by the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development’s economic development division and are intended to support “the creation of public accessible civic spaces at the 299 Broadway project.” When a councilor asked for clarification, Demers confirmed this is a MassWorks grant.

Committee members expressed enthusiasm for the state funding. Councilors characterized it as welcome investment in a project they have discussed previously. The committee placed the item on the table to be included in a combined approval vote at the meeting’s close; no amendments were introduced during the committee discussion.

The meeting record did not include a detailed scope, schedule or construction budget for the civic-space elements; staff noted those specifics are part of ongoing project planning and design work. The combined roll-call vote at the end of the meeting recorded approval of the items on the table, including this MassWorks grant acceptance.