566 Columbus Avenue Cultural Space RFI Public Presentations

This meeting will be held as a webinar using Zoom. Participants can join by clicking on the following link or copying and pasting the link into a web browser:

Join the online meeting

Description

In cooperation with the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) and 566 Columbus LLC, the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture (MOAC) will host a meeting for the presentation of 5 finalist proposals for the use of affordable cultural space. MOAC has assembled an evaluation committee to make a final selection following these presentations and a subsequent comment period.

This is an opportunity for the public to learn about the 5 finalists for approximately 2,500 square feet of affordable cultural space located at 566 Columbus Avenue. This cultural space is made available as a part of the community benefits agreement for the development located at the same address. As a part of the Request for Interest/Request for Proposals (RFI/RFP) process, each finalist organization is required to present a synopsis of their proposed use of the space to the public.

The format of this meeting will be as follows. The finalist teams will each have a maximum of 10 minutes to present their proposal followed by 10 minutes for Q&A from attendees. The presentations will be timed and the evaluation committee will stop presentations at 10 minutes. Attendees will be asked to keep their questions to 1 minute each to allow time for multiple questions and for the finalists to respond. Again, the evaluation committee will stop the Q&A at 10 minutes.

There will be a two-week comment period associated with the finalist organizations’ presentations and proposals. This comment period is anticipated to begin on July 10, 2024, or once all materials have been posted to the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture website.

The public is encouraged to provide comments. The City asks the public to provide detailed comments that are related to the evaluation criteria or provide community expertise and context. Comments that solely provide approval or opposition of a particular organization will not be considered by the evaluation committee.

Goals

1. Announce the finalists for the Affordable Cultural Space Located at 566 Columbus Avenue and the public comment period
2. The public be informed of the 5 finalists’ proposals for programmatic use of the space