Affordable, workforce housing project breaks ground

A large-scale affordable and workforce housing project that’s intended to house more than 150 Island residents is off the drawing table and into action after a groundbreaking on Thursday — and officials say it’s the largest project of its kind yet. 

Tackenash Knoll, formerly called Southern Tier, is headed up by Island Housing Trust, with partners Affirmative Investments, a Boston-based firm, and the town of Oak Bluffs; it has been in the works for eight years, and is slated for completion in the spring of 2027. It’s a planned development of 60 permanent year-round units for locals at between 30 and 120 percent of area median income (AMI). 

The project sits on 7.8 acres of town-owned land, and will include 12 residential buildings, walking paths, a community center with a management office, and a mix of one-bedroom to three-bedroom units. 

According to housing officials and leaders of the project, more housing stock could not come soon enough for a community that’s struggling to find accommodation. 

“In the past decade, we’ve lost more than 600 year-round homes — that have been converted to seasonal and short-term rentals,” Chief Executive Officer of Island Housing Trust Philippe Jordi said at the groundbreaking on Thursday. The ceremony was held in a room in the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena, next to the development. “Today, only 38 percent of the Island’s total housing stock is year-round. That’s a historic low.”

Jordi spoke to the importance of opening the door for working Islanders, and the economic and social benefit of supporting affordable housing projects. And he said the name of the development holds deep significance, as well. Tackenash was the name of a Wampanoag tribe member from the 1680s who lived on the land of the planned development, “respected the land,” and took “only what was necessary” from it. 

“This vision is rooted in the name Tackenash Knoll,” Mark Leonard, Oak Bluffs select board member, said. He said the town of Oak Bluffs shares the vision of land conservation with its Wampanoag namesake. “The cornerstone of our commitment to Tackenash Knoll is the belief that meaningful development happens with — not just for — the community.” 

Leonard said Tackenash Knoll will be 100 percent electric, will feature solar panels on each building, and will be built with the goal of land preservation and energy efficiency. 

The project is funded by multiple donors — including $11 million in workforce housing financing from MassHousing, and nearly $34 million from tax credits and direct funding from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC).

Ed Augustus, Massachusetts housing secretary and leader of EOHLC, was present at the groundbreaking, and said the project is a win for the Island community. 

“This is exactly what we need all over Massachusetts — every corner of Massachusetts is facing a housing crisis,” Augustus said in a speech to nearly 50 audience members. He said there are a few places, like Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, that are facing housing issues in an “extreme way.” 

Augustus spoke to a sense of urgency the state and its residents are feeling to address housing insecurity: “[We want] to provide more tools — so we can do more, faster.”