The name of CitySpace, the new WBUR broadcast studio and performance venue that opens next month at 890 Commonwealth Ave., reflects the public radio station’s goal of connecting face-to-face with the community.

Located in an early 20th-century building originally completed as a car dealership, the 8,700-square-foot ground-floor location with oversized windows was later converted into a Tweeter Etc. audio store and, most recently, a bicycle shop.

When the space on the Boston-Brookline border became available following the bike shop’s relocation, WBUR saw an opportunity to boost its public visibility and complement its third-floor studios in the same building.

“They are this amazing asset, but nobody even knew that they were there,” said Tim Mansfield, a principal for Cambridge Seven Assoc., which designed the project. “They had no street presence and no signage. When it became available, [station General Manager] Charlie Kravetz had a vision for how to bring the public and more visibility to the campus.”

Along with a production studio, CitySpace has capacity to host 270 audience members for live performances and debates, and a lobby for receptions. A hydraulic stage can be elevated for performances and panel discussions, or lowered to provide additional space for dinner parties. Remote-controlled lighting and robotic high-definition digital cameras streamline production.

While double-glass walls muffle outside traffic and sirens, Cambridge-based acoustic consultants Acentech addressed another challenge of the urban location: vibrations from the MBTA Green Line trolleys that travel down the median of Comm Ave. The new studio sits on a floating concrete slab which blocks out the rumbling.

The project was supported by a $5 million donation from Jonathan and Jeannie Lavine, along with donations from the Barr Foundation, Josh and Anita Bekenstein, The Davis Family Charitable Foundation and The Gannon Family Foundation. Lee Kennedy Co. served as construction manager.