The Island’s only family campground, with 180 campsites and dozens of cabins and RV sites that pepper the woods in Tisbury during the summer, was acquired on Wednesday by a holding company that has a wide portfolio of campsites and resorts across the country.
Northgate Holdings, a Michigan-based company that Northgate Resorts operates under, purchased Martha’s Vineyard Family Campground, located at 569 Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, this week. The news of the acquisition comes just a month after the death of the longtime operator Dan Feeney, the son of the founders of the campground.
Chelsea Bossenbroek, general counsel for Northgate Resorts, told The Times that the purchasing agreement was already in place at the time of Feeney’s passing.
“Northgate hopes to build on the amazing legacy of the Feeney family,” Chelsea Bossenbroek said. “We were very sorry that he passed away prior to the sale closing.”
She also said the company isn’t planning on changes for the upcoming summer season.
“Whenever Northgate acquires campgrounds, especially campgrounds that have been owned and operated by the same family in some cases, for generations, we make changes in a thoughtful way. As such, we do not have any immediate plans to make changes this season,” Chelsea Bossenbroek said.
The new ownership is the latest in a trend of the loss of locally-owned businesses. Island Music, the Tisbury location of Mocha Motts, Phillip’s Hardware, and Grey Barn are just a few in the last year alone. Some of these closures represented a cultural shift as well as a physical one, such as Island Music, which was a hard pill to swallow for local musicians who spoke about the implications for the music community. Others, like Linda Jeans’ closure, created a gap that was recently filled by the newly established Highlands General.
Now, the campground has joined these ranks, although the effects of the change in hands is yet to be seen. The Feeneys were not immediately available for comment.
“Martha’s Vineyard is one of those rare places that families return to year after year, and for decades, the Feeney family poured their hearts into building a destination that generations of campers have come to love,” Zachary Bossenbroek, and chief executive officer of Northgate Resorts and Chelsea’s brother, said in a press release.
The MV Family Campground land was purchased in 1960 by Charles and Jeanne Feeney, and was officially opened to the public in 1972. Back then, it was one of three public campgrounds. In 1988, Dan Feeney took over day-to-day management from his parents. He oversaw the company until his death this March, when the campground went to the next generation, according to his obituary.
The use of the campground has varied. It’s a seasonal destination and a local one in the summer months. Some Vineyarders have resided on the campsites as a response to the “Island Shuffle,” a phenomenon where locals are unable to find year-round rentals and have to move out of their homes in the summer months.
“The opportunity to acquire the only campground in one of America’s most beloved destinations is truly once in a lifetime, and we do not take that responsibility lightly. We are deeply grateful to the Feeney family for entrusting us with the next chapter,” said Zachary Bossenbroek in the release.
For the Island specifically, hospitality is a huge economic driver, according to a 2023 statistical report from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission. In Tisbury, specifically, leisure and hospitality make up 11 percent of the establishments in the town and employ a monthly average of 12 percent of local workers, according to Commission data from 2022.
Many facets of the hospitality industry thrive primarily in the summer, especially lodging. Hotels, motels, campgrounds — even short-term rentals from individual homeowners — all peak in the warmer months. And camping, according to reports is a $66 billion industry in North America, with a swell in participation during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic that has remained slightly elevated since, according to a report by Kampgrounds of America, Inc., an organization that collects campground data in the U.S. and Canada.
“We are hopeful that Northgate will be a welcome addition to the Martha’s Vineyard community as the next family owned operator and steward of this special place,” Chelsea Bossenbroek told The Times.