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Katama Meadows talks trudge forward
Updated Sept. 12. In the brightly lit Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) meeting room for four Thursday nights so far this summer, deliberation on the 54-acre subdivision development proposal in Edgartown,…
Proposed apartments behind Dairy Queen eyed as respite from 40B developments
In what may be a first for the Vineyard, Edgartown is in talks to utilize privately owned apartments for affordable housing — a move that would bolster its subsidized housing inventory and give it reprieve from Chapter 40B developments. The desired units are a part of a development proposed to be built on 238, 240,…
Edgartown property sale breaks state record at $43 million
With $43 million, a person can buy a coastal compound in Edgartown with sweeping views facing the Atlantic and also set a real estate record for the state and Island. This scenario isn’t hypothetical, though; it happened. The property is called Great Point, and is located off 15 Forever Wild Way, facing the south coast…
Housing solutions: From an abandoned building to a home
Sweeping strokes of graffiti covered white plaster walls inside an abandoned parsonage in Aquinnah in 2023. Three years later, the property is a renovated, affordable duplex where a family from the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) and another tribal member live year-round. The project, completed by affordable housing developer Island Housing Trust (IHT), is…
Housing Developments
Katama Meadows decision pushed to September
The deliberation on the 54-acre subdivision proposed in Edgartown called Katama Meadows went over time again Thursday, and further discussion was pushed until September 10. Islanders who are anxiously awaiting some certainty regarding Katama Meadows will have to wait a bit longer. It remains unclear whether the meeting in September…
Shelter for indigenous women unanimously approved by MVC
Updated August 7. A proposed shelter for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, called Aquinnah Headwaters, was unanimously approved by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) on Thursday night with minimal conditions. According to data from Kinship Heals, the organization proposing the shelter, 85 percent of indigenous women have experienced…
Debate heats up on Katama Meadows
Updated August 5. It remains unclear whether a final decision may be made on August 6 on the controversial and evolving Katama Meadows project, but if last week’s meeting is any guide to where this is going, the Island community and the Martha’s Vineyard Commission can expect more debate. There’s…
Editor’s pick: Housing coverage
Once-elegant hotel now symbol of struggle
Housing threatens vital summer economy
Accessory dwelling units: An intergenerational tool for housing challenges
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Series: Summer economy
Once-elegant hotel now symbol of struggle
In the 1860s, ornate resort hotels were constructed in downtown Oak Bluffs to accommodate an influx of summer visitors. The Vineyard was a budding attraction: Early sightseers promenaded in billowing gowns and sharp suits while attending religious camp meetings, and took in the beauty of the Island as a potential vacation hot spot. One of…
Housing threatens vital summer economy
The seasonal ebb and flow of Island life moves like the tides, a motion that is necessary to keep the local community afloat. But these days, the summer economy and the need for affordable housing feel more like an unpredictable crosscurrent that threatens the sustainability of the Island. Twenty thousand year-round Islanders live and work…
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