Controversial Edgartown renovation advances

An Edgartown renovation project that sparked controversy will be moving forward. 

During a meeting held on Thursday, August 3, the Edgartown Historic District Commission voted to approve renovations at 81 South Water St. Thursday’s vote was not unanimous: Two commissioners, Julia Tarka and James Cisek, voted against approving the project. 

A pool originally proposed for the property has been dropped for the time being. 

The renovations planned to 81 South Water St. were a point of concern for neighbors who felt it would eliminate a view to Edgartown Harbor, even sparking a rally in front of Edgartown Town Hall in May.

Goldeneye LLC purchased the property in January for $15 million. Investor David Malm is the manager of Goldeneye, which owns multiple properties on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.

After the initial showing of the proposed plans, project architect Patrick Ahearn made multiple changes to the design with public input. 

During a public hearing held in July, many neighbors expressed that the changes made by Ahearn were large improvements to what was initially presented. After closing the public hearing, the board decided to wait to see a visual and to review Ahearn’s proposed changes to meet the commissioners’ concerns. These changes included removing the railing system at the entryway, dropping the vertical wall ridge up to two feet to show more of the turret, and moving a pair of French doors.

While some commissioners liked what they saw, some members felt the proposed pool and its fencing were not appropriate for the area. “I think it’s totally inappropriate historically, environmentally, and archaeologically to put a swimming pool overlooking … the beach,” Cisek said. 

Afterward, Ahearn proposed eliminating the pool, the railings, and any changes to the retaining wall from the application, so that it focuses only on the house renovations. 

However, there is also room for Ahearn to apply with the Edgartown Conservation Commission for a swimming pool, although it would ultimately have to come back to the historic commission, according to Tarka. 

A member of the public, Sarah Hughes, expressed in the Zoom chat that public input should have been acquired prior to the changes taking place for the project.