Software Company Expands Headquarters At Somerville’s Assembly Row

SOMERVILLE, MA — SmartBear, a leading provider of software development and visibility tools, unveiled its expanded headquarters in Somerville Thursday at an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Mayor Katjana Ballantyne.

The company, which moved to Somerville in 2015, recently signed a seven-year lease for its office at 450 Artisan Way at Assembly Row, while increasing its footprint by nearly 16,000 square feet to occupy 52,400 square feet and up to 385 seats.

As part of the expansion, SmartBear added an onsite gym, coffee bars, and several new collaboration areas for its 260 employees. Office tours included the unveiling of a new mural commissioned by Artists for Humanity.

"Somerville and SmartBear share a commitment to innovation, community, sustainability, and diversity,” Mayor Ballantyne said in a statement. "I am thrilled that SmartBear continues to grow alongside Somerville's Assembly Row Business District.”

SmartBear has increased its employee roster by several hundred while delivering on a number of hiring, retention, and global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals and signing the Vista Climate Pledge, committing to annually measure, offset, and set reduction targets for carbon emissions.

The Somerville location is a certified LEED building, demonstrating green building practices and minimizing energy usage. The company has measured its annual greenhouse gas emissions since 2019, eliminated the use of single-use plastic in all offices, and chooses solution providers that are committed to sustainability. SmartBear has also donated to sustainability organizations, Echoing Green and Cool Effect.

Each year since 2017, SmartBear has participated in the local Pan-Mass Challenge bike-a-thon which raises money for cancer research, giving over $290,000 in direct and employee-matching donations to date. The company also recently announced a partnership with Make-A-Wish, an organization that creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

As part of sustainability week this year, SmartBear teams gave back to the environment by planting meadows and cleaning up parks and beaches, with the Somerville team cleaning up along the banks of the Mystic River.

“We support the SmartBear team holistically – when they are at the office as well as out in the community where they live with the local and global initiatives that are important to them, Veronica Curran, Chief People & Culture Officer at SmartBear, said in a statement. “We are proud to unveil our new corporate headquarters in Somerville today with its beautiful enhancements that will inspire work in a space that supports our sustainability, philanthropy, and diversity goals. We continue to shape SmartBear into an organization in which our employees, customers, and local community are proud.”