HarborWorks acquires DeSorcy property

Vineyard Lands for Our Community (VLC), headed by MV Times owner Steve Bernier, recently finalized the purchase of a Beach Road property from the DeSorcy family as part of a project aimed at opening up public access the waterfront, known as the HarborWorks plan. 

The $2 million acquisition, which was recorded on Sept. 13, is an important step in a long journey ahead for HarborWorks to preserve and add new space for wooden boatbuilders Gannon & Benjamin, to develop a waterfront stage and public gathering space within Boch Park, and to create a new pier and location for the nonprofit behind the Shenandoah tall ship. 

“We’re close, but we’re not fully there yet,” said VLC chair Bernier. “We haven’t grabbed the brass ring,” he said, while also noting that the recent acquisition was a noteworthy stride in the right direction.

The overall HarborWorks project includes five properties along Beach Road that would create approximately 250 feet of public beach along the harbor. Much of the intention is centered around preserving the working waterfront, including wooden boatbuilders Gannon & Benjamin. Martha’s Vineyard Ocean Academy, the owners of the tall ship in Vineyard Haven, have partnered with VLC, and are looking to move their operation to the area as well. And proponents of HarborWorks say that by keeping the space from a commercial developer, there is a unique opportunity to create a community project which will educate the next generation of boatbuilders through Gannon & Benjamin, future sailors through the Ocean Academy, and offer apprenticeships for Island youth on digital storytelling through a new media hub that would be established in The MV Times offices.

Here are the latest moving parts to this ambitious community project:

The acquisition of the DeSorcy property at 34 Beach Road gives the nonprofit the ability to connect an adjacent parcel at 30 Beach Road owned by Tisbury Working Waterfront. That parcel, where MV Times offices as well as Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway and workshop are located, will be donated to VLC. When town, state, and federal approvals are met, these two parcels would be connected with Boch Park, pledged by Ernie Boch Jr.
Together these three waterfront lots form a significant part of the building envelope for the redevelopment plan, which organizers point out still has miles to go in terms of presenting plans and winning the required approvals.

The acquisition of two more key parcels, also owned by the DeSorcy family, is called for in the plan, but that has not been completely finalized. VLC board member Cole Powers has signed a purchase and sales agreement with the family for the two properties, and the acquisition is expected to be finalized before the end of the year. 

With a plan in place to complete the acquisition, Powers, who is the founder and president of Powers Electric, said that he is excited about the steady momentum that will allow the project to keep moving forward. “I feel like we now have the foundation in place necessary to successfully proceed with a community vision for the harborfront,” Powers told The Times.

After a series of informal hearings and meeting with key stakeholders, the nonprofit is in the process of going back to the drawing board for design before beginning the permitting stage. Powers and Bernier said that the redesign, while mostly aesthetic, comes in response to two public meetings at the Gannon & Benjamin boatyard, where the community was invited to see and hear about the plans, and where the board members were able to listen to public reactions to their plan, and to answer questions and be responsive to concerns.

Powers said that they heard from several residents that the design appeared too sleek and modern, and perhaps not in the New England character of the town of Tisbury and its waterfront. Powers said that the plan is to come up with a look that is more representative of the late 19th century era of wooden sailboats. 

“We listened to the community, and we’re going to make major changes in our original design,” Powers said. “This will be like something that is historic, like Mystic Seaport, to pay homage to the sailing industry.”