For many local musicians, affordable rehearsal space is hard to come by. Even when they can secure a place to practice that fits their budgets, there’s always the likelihood of the property being sold, developed, or demolished.

Jesse Weiss, a sound engineer and drummer in the band Pet Fox, was booted from two studios earlier this year before he found an interim practice space at 55 Morrissey Blvd., which was once home to a radio station company.

“There’s been so much good music that has happened here in Boston, and that continues to happen and there’s a great community of people,” Weiss said. “You know, we just need more venues. We need more places to play and we need more places to practice.”

After some 700 musicians were displaced from an Allston Brighton space called the “Sound Museum” when a developer brought biotech companies to the site, close to 500 now have rehearsal space at 55 Morrissey after a quick revamp earlier this year by the nonprofit The Record Co.

The temporary rehearsal space was made possible by an agreement between the building’s owner, the real estate investment firm Center Court Mass, LLC, musicians and volunteers at the #ARTSTAYSHERE Coalition. Center Court is developing the parcels of land that span from 35 Morrissey to 75 Morrissey to the north of the former Boston Globe headquarters, with plans for seven buildings, a mix of residential and commercial space, a new grocery store, and parks a short walk from JFK/UMass MBTA Station.

The project is under review by city planning and development officials.

The Record Co. will be temporarily housed in the 35,000-square-foot building that was formerly occupied by the Beasley Media Group. The inside rehab features 88 monthly rentable studios, security patrols and cameras, a common room, and a community kitchen.

Said Sasha Pedro, general manager of The Record Co.: “This was one of the first spaces like this in a long time on this side of the city. The drummer you hear right now, he walks over here every day because he lives nearby. Before, he had to drive like 45 minutes to practice.”

Pedro said the building’s amenities allow for chance interactions and community opportunities. “A tenant upstairs bought like six dozen doughnuts and hot chocolate for the whole building. And people came down and ate them and cleared out after like two hours. They all got to talk to each other.”

Jim Healey, a vocalist and artist with the band Blood Lightning, said that rehearsal spaces are both a respite and creative havens for many musicians.

“And as the different bands come in and out, the room kind of grows. It becomes, and not to sound too goofy, its own living environment for the amount of time that you’re there. It’s not just four walls and, and posters and dirty beer smell and such.”

When the Sound Museum rehearsal space in Allston Brighton was set to be demolished and turned into a life science campus, musicians and volunteers with the Arts coalition asked the developer, IQHQ Inc., a real estate agency in San Diego, to help them find permanent replacement space. The agency worked to relocate to West Roxbury, but according to Ami Bennitt, a Dorchester resident and volunteer with the coalition, many of the displaced musicians didn’t want to leave Allston/Brighton.

IQHQ then pivoted to donating another property in Brighton, 290 North Beacon St., but this time the property was offered to the city of Boston. If the city owns the property, Bennitt said, “it would never be sold or redeveloped or changed use, and something like this wouldn’t happen again.”

Under a city development process called Article 82, IQHQ’s offer remains under review. But even if the offer is approved, the city would have to build out the new property, meaning displaced musicians could be without a space. Given that, the Arts Coalition went searching for a potential interim space and found the vacant property at 55 Morrissey Blvd.

Center Court’s Matt Snyder agreed to let the group use the building for two years because it is not yet slated for development. “We offered the license agreement because it was a win-win for us and the musicians,” said Snyder, who added that Center Court is “taking the long view” in terms of its investment on Morrissey Boulevard. “Not only do we want to do good business; we also want to be good neighbors and community partners,” he said.

The Record Co. signed on to rehab the building over an eight-week stretch and operate it afterwards. The nonprofit aims, which was founded by Matt McArthur, aims to bring accessible studio space to musicians by providing rehearsal spaces and studios already built out with recording equipment, leaving members only having to pay to rent a room.

McArthur “always sells it like, it’s a community pool, but for music,” Pedro said. “If you want to play basketball, you go to a basketball court. If you want to play soccer, you go to a soccer field. If you want to play music, where do you go? And the idea was to kind of build a community space that people could flock to to meet like-minded folk.”

Weiss, the sound engineer and Pet Fox drummer, reflected on the past music scene in Boston, remembering his first gig at Great Scott, the Allston venue that closed in 2020 and now sits empty.

“I see a lot of vacant buildings. I see a lot of luxury condos,” Weiss said. “And I don’t really feel like that contributes to the culture of Boston, to making things more affordable, making things better for the city.”

Healey, the Blood Lightning vocalist, calls the 55 Morrissey deal a successful attempt at curbing displacement.

“It’s a great solution. It’s not perfect, and I don’t think there are any perfect solutions, unfortunately,” he said. “But the fact that there was a solution, that #ARTSTAYSHERE, Mayor Wu, The Record Company, the owner of 55 Morrissey convened and really put their heads together and got it done in such a short amount of time is, while not a perfect situation, pretty good in the grand scheme of things.”