The Community Music Center of Boston (CMCB) discussed CMCB’s upcoming expansion into a renovated building in Nubian Square, scheduled to open in early 2027 during a recent Boston Business Journal interview. The new location will increase the organization’s capacity, provide accessible spaces designed for individuals with diverse needs, and strengthen its presence in the Roxbury community. Zachary Sheets, Chief Advancement Officer said the expansion will support music education, workforce development, and music therapy while creating additional opportunities for community engagement.
CMCB, an arts education nonprofit founded in 1910, provides music classes and lectures to 2,500 students weekly and is currently headquartered in the South End. CMCB has received $22 million in new markets credit tax investments to renovate their new headquarters in Roxbury. They plan to use both locations for classes and lessons, said Zach Sheets, the chief advancement officer at CMCB, but the headquarters will move to Roxbury.
BlueHub Capital, TD Community Development Corporation, and the National Community Investment Fund also provided new markets tax credit investments. “We think arts and culture tend to not fit a lot of conventional financing,” said Connie Max, the chief credit officer and president of managed assets at BlueHub Capital. “So being able to bring the new markets tax credit to this project, which
brings in kind of a more flexible blended interest rate, lower cost overall financing, is really important.”
The project is a complete renovation of a former art gallery located on Washington Street in Roxbury. Built in 1926, the building has previously housed a bowling alley, wallpaper factory, and a community gathering space.
The organization also promoted its summer music programs, affordable sliding-scale tuition model, volunteer opportunities, and youth employment initiatives, emphasizing its goal of ensuring that financial barriers do not prevent people from participating in music. As Sheets commented, ““The way I like to think about it is that we’re preparing young people from the classroom to the boardroom and from the stage to the corner office”.
