After over 5 years of planning, designing and construction, Island Grown Initiative of Martha’s Vineyard unveiled new employee housing this week with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The new development includes four housing units — two, 1-bedroom and two, 2-bedroom — on Stony Hill Road in Vineyard Haven. The project was done in collaboration with South Mountain Company. The units will be occupied year-round by four IGI employees and their families.
IGI food equity assistant Nicol Carvalho will be living in one of the units, and she was on hand for the celebrations with her two daughters, Phoenix and Jasmine, who helped cut the ribbon.
“The fact that we have housing, and they [my daughters] can finally start roots on Island is overwhelmingly exciting,” Carvalho said.
Island Grown officials and other housing advocates were on hand for the ceremony.
“Our mission is to create a regenerative and equitable food system on the Island. Our staff works day in and day out, to achieve that mission and to achieve all the goals we set for ourselves,” IGI Executive director Rebecca Haag said, kicking off the event. “[In years past] We were experiencing a loss of employees with great experience — they couldn’t find a place to live.”
“We made a commitment to raise the capitol and build employee housing.”
Haag was followed by Island Housing Trust executive director Philippe Jordi, who detailed the need for housing on the Island.
“Since [2005], the Island housing crisis has only deepened as housing prices have increased over nearly 500 percent,” Jordi said.
“In order to attract and retain the workforce, we need to sustain the Island community. We need stable year round housing that is affordable to own and rent a living wage,” Jordi added. “We hope in a future that provides possibilities for those who want to work and participate in all aspects of our community, that they can have a safe, stable and secure year.”
South Mountain CEO Deidre Bohan reflected on working with IGI. “We are grateful for the trust IGI put in us to create a secure future for their staff, and we are delighted to have IGI as a partner with their incredible mission, community service and outreach.” she told The Times.
IGI’s Education Director Emily Armstrong, one of the housing recipients, spoke to her personal experience with housing insecurity on MV.
“I fell in love with this work and everything we do […] but like so many Islanders, my partner and I were doing the ‘Summer Shuffle,’ moving between seasonals and rentals,” she said.
“I hope that this housing will give our employees stability […] to be able to stay on this island community, which is really our home.”
The housing development plan was originally approved by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, in March of 2022.
