Dear Billy T and Somerville/Medford News Weekly Speakup Line,

The city sent us this:

 Ms. Parama Chattopadhyay
Out of the Blue Community Arts. Inc.
Unit B6, Somerville Armory
191 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02413

May 22, 2025
Dear Ms. Chattopadhyay,

Thank you for your understanding as the City of Somerville has completed the Armory Master Plan. As a longstanding tenant, we appreciate your role in making the Armory a vibrant and creative arts destination, and hope that you continue to thrive in our community.

The City of Somerville (the City) will soon release the final Somerville Armory Master Plan, reflecting many months of inclusive, community-based conversations about the future of this important arts destination. The Master Plan is designed to assure that The Armory offers Somerville’s diverse arts community space for a variety of uses, expanas access to the arts for our residents, and operates sustainably. As a result of the Master Planning process. we expect to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide new multi-year leases to tenants in the building. As a valued tenant of the Armory (Unit B6), it is important that you understand both your options for ongoing and future tenancy as well as your relocation rights related to the City’s acquisition of the Armory. Please also note the timing of future changes so that your organization can plan appropriately and respond.
The City’s taking of the Armory by eminent domain in 2021 entitled all tenants in place at the time to apply for relocation benefits from the City. Under federal and state law, relocation benefits are available to all tenants of a municipal property that relocate due to a municipal acquisition. Tenants are not eligible for relocation benefits if their departure cannot be tied directly to a municipal acquisition (such as by signing a new lease with the City).
The City will soon start selecting tenants for the Armory’s next chapter by the RFP process mentioned above. All prospective tenants (existing and new) must apply (by submitting a proposal) for one or more leasable spaces in the Armory. If a current tenant is selected and signs a lease following this RFP process, any departure from the Armory afterwards will not trigger eligibility for relocation benefits because the departure can no longer be directly linked to the City’s purchase of the building.
This letter is notification that if you do not apply for future tenancy, if your application is not selected for tenancy, or if you decline your selection for tenancy, you may be displaced from the Armory as a result of the upcoming RFP procurement process. It also informs you of your eligibility as a displaced tenant under federal law (the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act (URA)) and Massachusetts General Laws (Chapter 79A) if you terminate your lease before or during the RFP process.
Relocation Benefits and Rights
As a current tenant in the Armory, you have the following rights:
A. To participate in the City’s upcoming RFP process by submitting a proposal to lease the space you currently occupy in the Armory, or additional and/or alternate spaces within the Armory building.
OR
B. To receive relocation benefits, mandated under federal/ state law and described below, should you:

1) Elect not to apply for tenancy in the Armory, either in your current space or alternate spaces in the property, or
2) Apply for tenancy of premises in the Armory and are not selected through the City’s Request for Proposals (RFP) process, or
3) Are selected for tenancy of a premises in the Armory and elect NOT to proceed with a lease with the City.
If you elect to terminate your commercial tenancy in the Somerville Armory, either by not participating in the City’s RFP process, or by not signing a new lease under the RFP process, or if your tenancy proposal is not selected by the RFP review committee, then you are eligible for:
A. Relocation advisory services, including help to find a new location;
B. Payment for moving and re-establishment expenses based on reasonable moving and re-establishment costs, or a fixed payment set by federal law.
Timeline for RFP and Relocation Benefits
The upcoming search for tenants will bring the transition period to a close and end the relocation benefits period. Any tenant who terminates their lease at the Armory as part of this search process will have the following timelines to vacate the premises and receive their relocation benefits.
• A current tenant who DOES NOT apply for a new lease in the Armory must vacate their premises 120 days from the date of the RFP submittal deadline.
• A current tenant who IS NOT selected for a new lease in the Armory must vacate their premises no later than 120 days after the date of notification, by certified mail, from the City that they were not selected to receive a new lease.
• A current tenant who IS offered a new lease in the Armory by the City has 90 days from the date they receive the lease to execute it. If a new lease is not executed and delivered to the City within 90 days without the mutual written agreement to extend the negotiation period from both parties, then the lease offer will be terminated. At the termination of the lease offer, the tenant must vacate their premises within 120 days. Tenants who do not execute a new lease provided by the City are still eligible to apply for relocation benefits.
Next Steps
The City has hired W.D. Schock Company to inform Armory tenants about their relocation rights, help them apply for relocation benefits, and process claims for eligible relocation expenses. Representatives of the company may have briefed you in the past about potential relocation benefits. If you choose to apply for relocation benefits, W.D. Schock will review with you in detail how to estimate your benefit amount and adjust your benefits accordingly if your relocation needs change.
To start applying for relocation assistance, please contact me, Ted Fields (tfields@somervillema.gov). If you participate in the City’s RFP process and sign a new municipal lease for premises in the Armory, you ARE NOT eligible for relocation benefits now or in the future.
A copy of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Commercial Relocation Benefits Handbook is enclosed.
If you have any questions regarding this notice, your relocation rights, or your potential relocation benefits, please contact Ted Fields (tfields@somervillema.gov) in Economic Development.

Sincerely,
Ted Fields Senior Planner, Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning & Community Development Enclosure: HUD Commercial Relocation Handbook