When the building at 155 North Beacon St. in Allston-Brighton is demolished, it won’t be taking the Sound Museum’s legacy with it. Nor will musicians have to watch their creative homes crumble to the ground.
The treasured and long-standing Boston rehearsal facility has announced plans to relocate, with the added news that current tenants will not have to move until the new space is “fully functional.” Sound Museum owner and founder William “Des” Desmond is currently working on the project alongside IQHQ, the California-based tech company that purchased the decades-old building from which the Sound Museum leases.
While IQHQ intends to demolish the current location, situated near the recently developed New Balance headquarters, in order to build a “life science campus,” the company has solidified plans to first help the Sound Museum move to a new space that’s comparable in size, location, and rent prices. IQHQ has even hired a commercial leasing broker and architect, according to the company, to help find and develop the new location.
“We discussed all these things over a period of a month, and then they [IQHQ] said ‘we’re committed to doing it. We’re going to replace the Sound Museum,'” Desmond tells Vanyaland. “We’re going to have a brand-new facility and these guys are going to spare no expense on it.”
That means the approximate 300 musicians who rehearse at the Sound Museum won’t be tossed into the street anytime soon. In fact, Desmond and IQHQ have also pledged to hire moving trucks to assist artists with the transition, free of charge.
“We understand the importance of the Sound Museum to Boston’s music scene, and have been working closely with ‘Des’ from the beginning to replicate what he created on N. Beacon Street,” states David Surette, senior vice president of IQHQ.
Desmond’s list of requirements for the new space ensures that tenants will experience as few changes as possible at the “new” Sound Museum. The facility must be within Boston city limits, close to the current location (roughly within a 20-minute drive, he says), and span around 40,000 square feet. Because the Sound Museum has long boasted “Boston’s most affordable rehearsal spaces,” Desmond also hopes to find a spot with comparable rent prices, he says.
Once Desmond and IQHQ lock in a new location for the Sound Museum, members of IQHQ’s staff will help remodel the space to include two recording studios, a performance area, and an adjacent room for an online radio setup.
“People can wheel [gear] right from their rooms into the performance space, and we can record them live,” Desmond notes. “I’m going to bring in some people that have been recording in the ‘old’ Sound Museum to help design the recording studios so they’re done properly.”
This news comes ahead of an Allston-Brighton public meeting this Tuesday (January 18), where many musicians planned to voice their concerns that the building’s demolition would also demolish a major chunk of the Boston music community. The Sound Museum’s current space in Allston-Brighton has offered a creative home to thousands of musicians over 32 years.
Prior to this announcement, the impending loss of the Sound Museum signified another surrender for cultural institutions in Allston-Brighton, many of which have been recently replaced by major chains and corporations. Fortunately, the music made within the walls of the Sound Museum won’t be silenced — just shifted to a new location.
“It’s the best case scenario possible for somebody like me with a small business in a position like this,” Desmond concludes. “I’m very grateful.”