The Island Theatre sits at the entrance of Oak Bluffs’ retail artery, a once-grand venue for moviegoers to watch films on the silver screen. For over a decade, it has sat derelict, and now, a town working group is asking Islanders to consider what they want to see at 1 Circuit Ave.
The 1 Circuit Avenue Working Group has mulled over how to revitalize the property since August, and earlier this month it issued a survey to collect feedback from community members.
“This survey is an opportunity for residents and the general public to share their ideas and priorities for how the property could be used in the future,” the survey intro states. “Your input will help inform the working group’s discussions and recommendations.”
The survey is collecting demographic information and an understanding of why people come to Circuit Avenue. It also asks what people want to see at the property, whether that it be returned as a cultural arts center, become a shop, housing, or green space, or be put to another use. Responses will be collected until Oct. 31.
Emma Green-Beach, an Oak Bluffs select board member who is the group’s vice chair, said a “favorite destination” hasn’t been reached yet. She said the survey is just one step to explore “a good public use for the property,” and that a lengthy process still remains before recommendations can be brought to the select board. Green-Beach highlighted that this is a public process and encourages all Islanders to attend the working group’s meetings and fill out the quick survey
“It’s really about … talking about the possibilities,” Green-Beach said. “That doesn’t mean all of these things are feasible.”
A landslide 451–162 vote during the town election in April approved spending of up to $5 million toward Oak Bluffs’ efforts to take the property through eminent domain, resulting in the ongoing discussions of what should be done about the building. The dilapidated theater is a longtime concern for town officials, and voters during the April town meeting also expressed a need for change to the property, which hasn’t had a tenant since 2012.
The theater, which the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System database states was originally constructed in 1914 as the Eagle Theatre, has been under longtime operation by members of the Hall family, who own properties across the Vineyard, including two landmark buildings on Main Street in Vineyard Haven. Those properties, the Capawock Theatre and the former site of Bunch of Grapes Bookstore, have been a source of complaint and concern by residents who feel they are underutilized. Benjamin Hall Jr., co-owner of the property and an Edgartown attorney, previously told The Times that various family members operated the property from the late 1920s to 1977 and then again from 1997 to 2010. Hall had owned the theater with his brother, Brian Hall, since 2011.
The Halls have repeatedly pushed against eminent domain, which would allow the town to seize the property with fair compensation to the owners. The Halls stated that they believe a private developer would be able to do a better job to make the property into a grand centerpiece in downtown Oak Bluffs, but issues with wastewater availability from the town have deterred potential buyers. One potential buyer, Jefrey DuBard of West Tisbury, was sued by the Halls in July over allegedly backing out of a $2.75 million deal after repeated delays — claims DuBard denies. The Halls have said the asking price for the property is $2.8 million.
Dion Alley, select board chair, told The Times that while eminent domain was approved by voters, the property is still under the Halls’ ownership, and they are still free to sell it if they choose to. Alley said the town wasn’t attempting a “land grab” and actually preferred to buy the theater, saying this route avoided hefty legal fees that would accompany eminent domain.
Benjamin Hall Jr., meanwhile, was skeptical about the town’s desire to conduct a “friendly purchase” rather than take the theater through eminent domain. He noted that he had not received an invitation for talks from the town ahead of the proposals for a possible eminent domain seizure. He also said the prospect of a possible eminent domain could be a concern for potential buyers.
“Not one invitation to come to a meeting, and the building department hasn’t reached out,” he told The Times. “Someone else was pushing hard for this behind the scenes that started the ball rolling. It’s all such a shame!”
Hall commented in opposition during select board meetings leading up to and during the annual town meeting in April. Meanwhile, Oak Bluffs Building Inspector Adam Petkus said at the working group’s Sept. 2 meeting that he’d reached out twice to enter the building but had received no response. Hall said he and his brother had not received communication from the town.
Alley said the town has yet to enter the building and was not forcing its way inside, in an attempt to be “respectful to the Halls.”
Petkus, meanwhile, told The Times that he reached out to Brian Hall. But Petkus noted during last month’s meeting that “we’re operating on borrowed time.” He underscored how the town had deemed the building unsafe in 2016 — citing problems including asbestos to structural instability — and required work be done the next year, but the “safe” status was meant for only three years after repairs were completed in 2017.
“I’d say another really nasty hurricane comes through, the town should seriously consider cordoning off the area,” Petkus said during the meeting, also expressing the possibility of condemning the building if the town were to enter through an administrative warrant. Petkus added that any work on the property would need to go before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission because of the theater’s status as a historic building.
Alley said one of the reasons the town’s been trying to gather feedback was that, if it goes through with eminent domain, the next iteration of the property must serve a public benefit, such as a theater, an art studio and/or music venue, or some mixed use that would serve the wider Island community.
“Public use could be another theater, employee housing, a park. I’m not going to put thoughts in people’s heads,” Alley said. He also noted that the town wanted, outside of needed executive sessions, to make the process open, to be fair and responsible with “everybody’s money.”
Oak Bluffs officials don’t have to look far for an example of eminent domain against one of the Halls’ properties. Following voter approval to begin a $3 million eminent domain take in 2017, the Halls made an unsuccessful attempt to block the seizure of the Yellow House, on Main Street in Edgartown, in court. In 2020, the Yellow House was reopened as a Lululemon store, with apartments, under an agreement with Christopher Celeste, who secured a 30-year lease on the property from the town and would pay $100,000 over that time. As the sole bidder, Celeste had pitched the property restoration in 2018 as a long-term asset for the town rather than a profit-making exercise.
Alley said the town wants to find a win-win, amicable situation for the Island Theatre. While the public use requirement falls away if the theater is bought outright, Alley said “it wouldn’t really matter, because the town is still going to do what’s best for the town.”
It will be easier and less expensive for the town if a lengthy court proceeding can be avoided, according to Alley.
