Somerville Theatre Building Sold to Its Current Managers, Who Are Raising $90,000 to Back the Down Payment

The Hobbs Building in Davis Square, home of the historic Somerville Theatre, has been transferred to CSB Theatres Inc., the company run by the theater's current managers, Cambridge Day reported Friday. The marquee announced the news to patrons Friday night, according to the outlet.

CSB is co-owned by longtime theater managers Ian Judge, Ian Brownell, Jamie Mattchen and John O'Leary, Cambridge Day reported. Judge's name is listed as the owner of the limited liability company, which he called a formality.

The sale price was not disclosed in the report. The Fraiman family's Chatham Light Realty trust put the Somerville Theatre building and the building housing Arlington's Capitol Theatre up for sale in July, listing each for $12 million, according to Cambridge Day. The trust also listed the Bryant Chambers apartments on College Avenue in Davis Square for $16 million, and that property remains on the market.

Judge described the deal as "equal parts excitement and nausea," according to the outlet. CSB has started a GoFundMe campaign seeking $90,000 to back money used for the down payment. "It's scary," Judge said, "but it's basically our only chance to make sure that the theater stays around, locally owned in its current form for as long as possible."

The company secured a loan through First Citizens Bank with help from a large sum supplied by an anonymous donor and fundraising led by Brownell, Judge said, according to Cambridge Day. "It happened really quickly," he said. "Normally, you anticipate something like this, and you raise money in anticipation of it, but we really kind of had to do it backwards."

CSB took over management of both the Somerville and Capitol theaters in 2025, when longtime owner and operator Richard Fraiman and Frame One Theatres stepped back from daily operations, the outlet reported. Fraiman's father, Melvin, bought the Hobbs Building in 1984 and died in 2022.

The family wanted to keep the Somerville Theatre as it is to honor Melvin Fraiman's memory, said Carl Christie, executive vice president of investment sales and capital markets at Hunneman Realty, the listing agent, according to Cambridge Day. "There were other offers, but this is the one they wanted," Christie said. "It will now remain a theater for decades."

The theater has operated since 1914. Somerville Mayor Jake Wilson, who had pushed for the theater to remain as it is when the sale was announced, said in a statement that the venue "has long been a cultural hub for our community and region," according to the outlet. "Thanks to the CSB Theatres team, that timeless marquee will be lit up well into the future, but they will need our community's support," Wilson said.

The Independent Film Festival Boston is based at the theater. "I'm thrilled," said Brian Tamm, the festival's executive director, according to Cambridge Day. "There had been a little bit of concern over the last month or so about what would happen. Now that the same people who are running it own the building, I feel like it's in good hands." Tamm also credited the city and the community, saying the response "just shows what a strong film town this is."

The building also contains the Crystal Ballroom, which Judge and Frame One converted from two smaller movie rooms in 2021, the outlet reported. The ballroom has a bar and a capacity of 525 for live music, comedy and special events, including a monthly movie trivia night hosted by Brownell. The Mr. Crêpe cafe is also in the building.

The Capitol Theatre building in Arlington remains on the market, according to Cambridge Day. CSB is not pursuing that property, but it has a 20-year lease to continue showing films there. Mattchen is the Capitol's longtime manager, and the building also houses several retail stores and apartments.

Judge, who lives in Teele Square, said owning the Somerville building felt like a homecoming. "I actually grew up about three blocks from the theater, behind Hodgkins Park. So, it was my neighborhood theater when I was a kid," he said, according to the outlet.

Judge said CSB may consider a nonprofit structure similar to that of the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Cambridge Day reported. For now, he said, "We just plan to keep the theater in the best condition we can and continue to do what we do."