About 50 Islanders came out Tuesday to the Gannon and Benjamin boatyard overlooking Vineyard Haven Harbor for the first listening event in the planned redevelopment of a stretch of the waterfront on Beach Road.
The new nonprofit Vineyard Lands for Our Community held the event to gather feedback and to listen to the community’s concerns as the multiple-acre project known as HarborWorks heads toward permitting.
While many in attendance wanted to know how they could help make the project a reality, there were also suggestions to expand — like providing space for commercial fishermen. Others wanted to know how the project would be sustainable, both economically and environmentally, and if the nonprofit would be paying taxes on the properties.
HarborWorks, which has a long road ahead and many dollars to raise before any shovels break ground, would include redeveloping three properties on the harbor long owned by Tisbury landowners the DeSorcy family, preserving Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway and wooden boatbuilding operation, and creating more artisan and maker space. Also included in the plans is the transformation of an adjacent private property, Boch Park, into a public greenspace with an outdoor theater and a site for a relocated MV Times building.
At Tuesday’s session, Vineyard Lands chairman Steve Bernier — who is also The MV Times’ owner — announced that Ernie Boch Jr. is now “100 percent” supportive of gifting his property to the HarborWorks project. Bernier said that a verbal agreement was made through Boch’s legal counsel, and in a handshake with Boch himself. But Bernier said that it shows Boch’s commitment to and excitement about the project. With the Boch Park and Gannon & Benjamin property secured, all that is left in the early stages of HarborWorks is purchasing the three adjacent DeSorcy parcels.
Bernier said on Tuesday that the nonprofit needs at least $4 million to acquire the properties and cover the cost of the acquisition, as well as architectural and engineering plans. Already, Bernier said, they have commitments to secure nearly half of that funding. And board member Cole Powers told The Times Tuesday that the nonprofit could be securing another large investment in the coming days.
But Bernier, while confident that the project would come together, said they have a tight deadline. The nonprofit has a purchase and sales agreement with the DeSorcys that is set to expire at the end of July. Bernier said that the DeSorcys may agree to an extension, but that’s not finalized. Bernier stressed that the group is behind in its fundraising effort, and that this project will only succeed with the help of the whole community.
Nat Benjamin, co-founder of Gannon and Benjamin, introduced the event on Tuesday with his story of how the wooden boatbuilding business came together 44 years ago. He said that he and Ross Gannon were walking the Tisbury waterfront to find a location to start their operation when they came across what seemed like an available harborside property on Beach Road. The property owner informed them that he had just signed an agreement with the fast food chain McDonald’s. Benjamin explained that only after the community came together and rallied against the chain were the Golden Arches kept off the Island, and the wooden boatbuilders provided a new home.
Then, about a decade later, Benjamin said that the boatyard burned to the ground, and he thought that their dream of having a place to practice their craft was all over. But once again, the Vineyard community rallied in support. Benjamin said that Islanders came together for a barnraising ceremony, and the boat builders once again had a home.
Now, with the threat of their property going to a private developer, Benjamin said Tuesday that they need the community to step up once again.
“This Vineyard community has kept this going,” Benjamin said. “We are going back to the community for more help because we need it.”
Powers also noted that the project was about preserving the working waterfront of Vineyard Haven. He asked attendees to envision the harbor without the Shenandoah — which is partnering with HarborWorks. He also said to envision the harbor without the wooden boats of Gannon and Benjamin.
“They are the main reason that that fleet still exists,” Powers said. “And if we lose that, we lose our identity. And that’s what scares me.”
Charles Sennott, publisher of The MV Times, said that he is excited that The Times will be at the center of the HarborWorks project. If plans go through, The Times’ newsroom would be moved to the Boch property, and Sennott said that the media group would be involved in holding speaker series on the public stage, as well as music and live performances.
“It is our job to bring people together and listen to them,” Sennott said. “It explains why we feel so at home as part of the vision of HarborWorks.”
He also said that building a digital media hub as part of the HarborWorks project would allow The Times to continue telling the stories of Islanders by teaching the next generation of Island storytellers.
In the audience, John Keene questioned if commercial fishermen could have space at the HarborWorks properties. He said that the Tisbury port would provide a good location for fishermen to get to fishing stock. The HarborWork plans include a new, 90-foot pier.
Bernier expressed that he was open to including the fishing industry in the plans. He said that while permitting has not begun, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission and the Tisbury planning board have expressed that the project may be too big.
As to the question of sustainability, Bernier said that they will be charging “affordable” rents to artisans to help keep it viable once construction is completed. In terms of climate change, much of the project would be built on pilings to accommodate for sea level rise, and they have carefully considered plans that would mitigate persistent flooding on Beach Road. As for taxes, Bernier said that VLC is committed to paying local property taxes, despite the fact that their nonprofit status would not require them to do so.
