Plans to build an affordable housing complex in Nantucket remain in limbo after locals objected to the project, insisting the affluent island lacks the infrastructure or resources for development.
Surfside Crossing pledged 156 homes on the 13.5-acre site, 70 percent of which will be for people who live on the island year-round.
On an island where a 5,075-square-foot home recently sold for $33 million and where John Kerry and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman spend their summers, securing housing for those working in tourism or the local community is critical Business work, a constant challenge.
Local developers Jamie Feeley and Josh Posner, who previously built an award-winning 40-home affordable housing project on the island called Beach Plum Village, said their proposal is the answer.
Developers produced these images of their plans for Surfside Crossing on Nantucket
The island of Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts has long attracted wealthy tourists and second-home owners: Affordable housing is a perennial problem
They said 15 of the homes and 24 of the condos would sell for between $261,000 and $373,000 and none of the 156 properties would cost more than $1 million.
But locals have been fighting to stop the program for five years.
“Most people on the island think that affordable housing is the #1 problem,” Posner said.
Josh Posner, one of the developers who hoped to finish Surfside
“And yet these attempts to do something about it usually have a tragic flaw: you’re next to someone.”
Meghan Perry, one of the leaders of the Nantucket Tipping Point protest group, told The Daily Beast that her objections are not “NIMBYism”.
Perry noted that the island’s fire chief said the development posed a “serious public safety concern.”
Others were concerned about the nearby school, traffic patterns, and rare species in the area.
Local developers Jamie Feeley and Josh Posner previously built an award-winning 40-home affordable housing development on the island called Beach Plum Village
Posner and Feeley insist their development will continue despite the concerns
Developers insist Surfside Crossing is a valuable response to Nantucket’s housing crisis
Local residents say a proposed housing development first submitted in 2018 is not sustainable on the island
Developers hope to build 156 homes on this 15-acre site near the coast
The developers promise that none of the lots will cost more than $1 million, and 15 of the homes and 24 of the condos would sell for between $261,000 and $373,000
She also doubted the case would be affordable, telling the site: “In reality it isn’t – it’s supposed to generate a profit for the developers that doesn’t benefit us.”
She added, “It’s going to weaken our infrastructure, it’s going to put our first responders at risk, it’s going to put the community at risk.”
Meghan Perry leads campaign to stop Surfside Crossing construction
Locals in Nantucket say they are concerned about the ability of their schools and emergency responders to cope with the new development
President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden and Ashley Biden leave the Nantucket Bookworks during their Thanksgiving trip to the island
President Biden walks down a Nantucket street on November 26 and holds hands with his grandson Beau, 2
President Joe Biden and Jill Biden pose with firefighters during their Thanksgiving trip to the Nantucket Fire Station
Protests continued, but the Housing Appeals Committee gave Surfside Crossing its final seal of approval in September 2022.
Residents then filed three lawsuits to challenge the decision, including a lawsuit brought by the nonprofit Nantucket Land Council, alleging the construction would jeopardize its work on behalf of public lands.
Posner told the website that they still believe concerns can be addressed and the project can go ahead.
“We hope we don’t have to go through the entire legal process as the reality and overwhelmingly positive impact this will have on the island sinks in,” Posner said.
“But if we have to go all the way, we’ll go all the way.”