Tisbury endorses housing at EduComp building

The Tisbury Select Board is supporting renewed plans for housing at the EduComp building. The board voted 2-0 in support during a meeting Wednesday, March 15. Board member Abbe Burt abstained from voting. 

Building owner Xerxes Agassi went to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission last July, where his plans for the building were rejected in a 10-6 vote. At the time, commissioners were concerned about the proposed size of the building and housing types. 

Having since amended the plans, Agassi will be bringing the project back to the commission. “We did propose quite a lot of housing for this project, and they wanted some of that language and some of the housing offers tightened up,” Agassi said. “So we’ve been working with them since that time.”

Agassi said the project would give a “new piece of life” to the building, and asked for the town’s support when it goes before the commission. 

EduComp was an art and office supply store that closed its doors in 2020 after 40 years of operation.

At the board’s request Wednesday, Agassi shared how the commission’s concerns have been addressed in the new plans. “We’ve always been a proponent of housing, which is much needed on-Island,” he said. “Where I think it fell short is we proposed a building of the scale to bring that level of housing forward. But they felt in essence that the language really didn’t lock up the offers that we had kind of put together.” 

Agassi said he has been working with Martha’s Vineyard Commission Island housing planner Laura Silber to “button down” what type of housing to propose. 

The current plan is to offer one affordable housing unit at 80 percent of the area median income (AMI), one workforce community housing unit at 150 percent AMI, three units for Island-based employers like Martha’s Vineyard Hospital at the market rate, but not exceeding 30 percent of a resident’s wages, and six year-round leases, ideally for Islanders. 

According to the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority, which calls the AMI the median family income, the median income for a four-person household in 2022 was $107,400. 

“There is a big gap,” Agassi said. “There is a big affordable housing component, and of course there’s luxury summer rental properties, but there’s a lot of people on-Island who are struggling to find housing in the middle, and we think this project, in essence, addresses a lot of those concerns.”

If needed, the number of housing units could be reduced, but Agassi said he felt it made sense to maximize the housing at the location. 

Agassi also said it follows commission guidelines, won’t cut down trees, and underscored that the building location is near the amenities of Tisbury. The property would have 22 parking spaces and a bike storage room, and Agassi said there are plans to connect the rear of the building to a nearby bike path. Additionally, he said the “scale of the project” is behind the existing building, and it can’t be seen except from some “offset angles.” 

The project’s budget is expected to exceed $10 million, according to Agassi. Additionally, although he did not currently have the data, Agassi said the tax benefits to Tisbury were expected to be “significant.” 

Board chair Roy Cutrer expressed support for the project. “We appreciate your investment in the town of Tisbury, and we appreciate your efforts to help meet the housing needs of the town,” he said. “I believe, as a board, we support it.” 

Burt said while she also supported the idea, she was still concerned about the project size. “I think I would like to get more information and talk to the housing person at the MVC and whatnot,” she said. “I know there are still a lot of people in the town still concerned with the size. I don’t have an answer to that, I just want to say that concerns me, too.” 

The board will be sending a letter of support to the commission.