PEABODY — Moving day has finally arrived for Peabody Access Telecommunications (PAT).
This week, PAT is packing up and moving from its Foster Street headquarters to its new digs at 81 Main St. — right smack in the middle of the downtown area.
“It’s going to be great being part of the downtown,” said PAT Executive Director Camille Bartlett. “We’ve loved our Foster Street space and had a great relationship with our landlord, who was fantastic, but felt a little bit like we were on our island. We feel it’s a smart decision to purchase downtown, with all that’s going on in the city; it’s exciting to be downtown and our location will make us feel more like part of the community and we’ll also have increased visibility.”
Since purchasing the building over the winter, PAT has been renovating the space, working with Jones Architects of Salem and Peabody contractor MRG Construction. A couple of minor delays, primarily COVID-19-related supply chain issues, pushed back the move-in date. Bartlett said RCN and Comcast will be switching over the playback system by the end of the week with a full move expected to take place no later than early- to mid-August.
“We should be somewhat back to normal by September,” said Bartlett.
PAT will occupy about 70 percent of the building with tenant Citizens Inn occupying the rest. Bartlett said the incoming rent will lead to a savings of about $6,000-7,000 per month, which will help offset the mortgage used to finance the $799,000 purchase price.
“We are thrilled to be there with Citizens Inn,” Bartlett said of the organization, which seeks to combat hunger and homelessness. “It’s a great bunch of people and they do amazing things.”
PAT had occupied its former location on Foster Street since 2006.
The new facility will continue to provide state-of-the-art podcasting capabilities and a media-editing lab, in addition to traditional studio and field production capabilities. Despite continued funding from cable television revenues, community media organizations continue to face funding challenges not only at the local level, but federal level, said Bartlett. Those combined challenges convinced PAT leadership that the purchase of the building would be “strategic” going forward
Bartlett said “a sustained pattern of decreased funding” was a major factor in the decision to move downtown.
“We’ve been seeing it for a while now,” said Bartlett. “We weren’t really looking to move as we love our space. COVID, and the fact that we are all working mostly from home, were factors and the thought of signing a long-term lease, especially with the funding situation, was a little bit scary.
“We had to decide if entering into another long-term lease was in the best interests of the organization,” she added. “Our board wanted to look at different alternatives, like purchasing a building and decreasing our footprint. So we took the plunge. It’s an investment and we now have something to show for our money.”
Board Chairman and former City Clerk Timothy Spanos said that PAT’s downtown presence is a “gamechanger.”
“We are thrilled to be joining the downtown community,” he said. “It is a tremendous opportunity for new initiatives and expanded services to meet the needs of our community.”
The new space also will benefit PAT’s youth programs, which were held outside for the most part since the start of the pandemic
“We should have more options for outdoor spaces and activities than we currently have been able to offer, so that is an added bonus (of the move),” Bartlett said. “Foster Street had its limitations, so while that was the only home we have known and have been treated so well by our landlord, this new space puts us in a better position not just for the next year or two, but long-term as well.”
Plans for an official grand opening are in the works.
“We probably will do something at our annual meeting and open house, so we are looking forward to that,” Bartlett said.
