Fashion History Museum in Cambridge packs up as city terminates lease

The co-founders of the Fashion History Museum successful Cambridge accidental their absorption is on packing its postulation successful a precise abbreviated magnitude of clip aft the metropolis ended its lease past week. 

The City of Cambridge announced connected Friday that it "made the hard determination to extremity the Fashion History Museum's lease astatine 74 Queen St. E. owed to important unpaid rent totalling astir $140,000 since June 2023, costs which would transportation to the taxpayer."

Jonathan Walford and Kenn Norman, co-founders of the Fashion History Museum, said they were shocked by the city's determination due to the fact that they thought they had travel up with an connection that was "a good, blessed medium."

"We ne'er heard back," Walford, who is besides the museum's manager and curator, told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition big Craig Norris of their discussions with the city. "We conscionable got the eviction announcement instead."

The museum's staff, with the assistance of volunteers, are present focused connected packing up much than 11,000 garments and accessories, 7,000 books, hundreds of mannequins, and bureau equipment. Walford and Norman accidental the postulation volition beryllium moved to aggregate unafraid locations until the depository finds a caller home.

Museum couldn't person grants aft falling down connected rent

Walford said the metropolis ending the museum's lease is simply a effect of differing points of view.

"What we're seeing the concern [as], is not however the metropolis sees it," helium said.

Walford explained the depository had an statement with the city. After a alteration successful municipal council, the metropolis ceased backing for the museum, portion continuing to complaint rent. He said the museum's rent was covered lone until 2023. 

Alana Russell, the manager of communications for the bureau of the metropolis manager, told CBC News the museum's lease statement "was not contingent connected them receiving assistance funding."

"In bid to person assistance funding, the FHM would request to beryllium successful bully fiscal standing. As they had accumulated arrears connected their rent, their quality to vie for grants was yet impacted, arsenic is the lawsuit with each groups applying for entree to assistance funds."

Walford said that museums "don't wage rent," citing different museums successful the region. 

"Every depository present … they wage a dollar a year. It's a symbolic motion to person ownership of the building," helium said. "We person been charged $80,000 a year."

In the quality release, the metropolis said, "the FHM operates retired of the main level level successful a commercialized lease agreement." 

"The depository curators unrecorded on-site successful a second-floor flat suite, and person not provided outgo for the space, arsenic agreed to successful their lease. The metropolis is not successful a presumption to supply an flat suite to the FHM for its unit oregon others to unrecorded rent free," the metropolis said.

Russell said lease terminations are ever "a past resort," and that the depository was provided with options including "reduced rent payments, partial outgo forgiveness, and a repayment plan."

"The metropolis acknowledges the contributions that arts and civilization organizations marque to our community, but consciousness it would beryllium unjust to proceed to accumulate arrears and undue expenses to the community," the metropolis said.

'A lot of enactment to beryllium done,' Walford says

With little than 2 weeks near earlier they request to vacate the building, Walford said the depository is packing its postulation with "a large woody of sensitivity."

"We clasp these items successful nationalist trust," helium said.

"We person unpaid conservators and curators of different institutions … coming successful to assistance to battalion things up and, and to get things safely organized." helium added. "It's a chore. There's a batch of enactment to beryllium done."

Norman said they've secured warehouses and commercialized spaces to effort and store the postulation arsenic they fig retired what's next. He said the peculiar quality of galore of the items successful the postulation marque moving them peculiarly difficult.

"[There's a] beauteous show lawsuit that we person wrong the depository that came from Galt. It's an Edwardian show case," Norman said. "It's astir 26 feet agelong … however bash we determination that?"

Walford said their precedence close present is making definite they're capable to determination everything retired of the Queen Street E. gathering arsenic cautiously arsenic possible.

"The absorption is conscionable ... getting the postulation out, getting the room out, and getting it into a harmless abstraction arsenic quickly, efficiently, and harmless arsenic possible," helium added.

A 'blip' successful history: Norman

Norman said helium is thankful for each the connections the depository has built passim its 20 years in Cambridge.

"It's a blip successful the history," helium said. "We person loved being successful Cambridge, and establishing ourselves here."

"It's conscionable been an unthinkable acquisition to spouse with truthful galore of the assemblage leaders here, not conscionable our colleagues successful the depository field, but besides with Explore Waterloo, and bringing successful tourism," Norman added.

While the depository has not recovered a caller home, Walford said what volition hap next, oregon wherever the depository volition extremity up depends connected the museum's committee of directors.

"I can't archer you what we're doing, but we are moving connected a future," helium said. "As we know, we've got the spot until midnight connected March the 31st, 11:59 p.m."

As for the gathering abstraction the depository volition beryllium vacating, the metropolis has not said however the abstraction volition beryllium utilized moving forward.

"While we regret that a solution could not beryllium met, we volition crook our attraction to however to champion utilize the abstraction successful the future," the metropolis said successful the release.