Armory applying for extended hours, larger capacity, outdoor cafe seating

[ron_newman]

Arts at the Armory has applied to the Somerville Board of Zoning Appeals for some changes to their occupancy permit. They propose to

• add 70-100 people to the main hall's capacity, allowing some events with up to 495 attendees
• open at 7 am, instead of the current 8 am
• close at midnight on weekdays, instead of the current 10 pm
• close at 1 am on weekends, instead of the current 11 pm
• allow cooking on premises, instead of requiring that all food be prepared off-site
• add 20 seasonal outdoor café seats
• upgrade the current beer-and-wine license to a full liquor license (ETA: the Armory's new director, Tracey Stark, tells me that the Armory "wants to be able to apply for a limited number of full liquor licenses for specific events")

The Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, September 5, starting at 6 pm at City Hall. If you'd like to support the application, the Armory has put a petition online.

Comments

[tikva.livejournal.com]

You know what'd be awesome? If they'd fix that dangerous, out-of-compliance ramp the state gave them months to fix. And paid the fines they've been accruing as a result. Did they ever do all that? Because if they haven't yet, I can't really support them getting approval for much of anything.

[ron_newman]

Didn't they satisfactorily fix that in April? It took longer than expected because it required the city to raise the level of the sidewalk to meet the ramp.

[tikva.livejournal.com]

I will check. That would be fantabulous. Thanks!

[fefie.livejournal.com]

The ramp at the Armory was fixed a while back.

Ron, thanks for posting the petition URL and info about the upcoming ZBA hearing.

Note that the petition is the Armory's, not the ZBA's. If you cannot make the ZBA hearing to speak in support of (or against) the Armory's request, you can email your comments to the ZBA before the hearing on 5 September. Send your testimony to Dawn Pereira at dpereira@somervillema.gov.

[mzrowan.livejournal.com]

Signed! Thanks for posting this!

[somervillesnow.livejournal.com]

Sounds great, what a great addition to the community and that particular neighborhood. I'm glad they are flourishing.

[ron_newman]

I love what the Armory does for Somerville, but I'm not sure they are 'flourishing'. In their application, they claim that they need these changes in order to attract shows that they currently can't get, and to become financially stable.