<p>A 12.5-acre residential property off Old County Road is slated to become a permanent home for the film festival, the organization said, although no plan has been presented yet.</p>
A residential property in the heart of West Tisbury is slated to become a permanent home for the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, the organization’s founder and executive director said.
Thomas Bena, a Chilmark resident who founded the educational nonprofit film festival 16 years ago, said a purchase and sale agreement has been signed for 12.5 acres off Old County Road formerly belonging to the late Cynthia Walsh.
The film festival will pay $1.4 million for the property, which includes a Greek revival house fronting the road and a large expanse of open, arable farmland behind it. A closing is set for June 22, Mr. Bena said.
“This came on the market at a price we felt was very reasonable,” he said. “It’s a home for us, but I want it to be a new story for the Island too.”
MVFF announced the news in an email to members late last week.
No plan has been presented or approved for the property, which lies in the village historic district. But Mr. Bena said before signing the purchase agreement, he approached the West Tisbury planning board and learned that because the film festival is an educational nonprofit, it would be permitted in a residential area.
Any plan for the property would need an array of regulatory approvals, including from the Martha's Vineyard Commission. Mr. Bena said there are no contingencies attached to the sale agreement.
Minutes from a planning board meeting on March 28 show that Mr. Bena and a group from the film festival, including board president Stephen Bernier, came before the board to discuss the purchase at 694 Old County Road.
At the time Mr. Bena outlined plans to build a 6,000-square-foot barn for film events, as well as plans to grow food on the property and sell it. Rez Williams, who lives nearby, also attended the meeting and raised concerns about impacts from septic system on the Mill Pond watershed. Board members suggested that the MVFF draft a more concrete plan so they would have something detailed to look at.
Speaking to the Gazette this week, Mr. Bena emphasized that plans for the property are in the very earliest stages, and expressed a strong desire to work with neighbors and be sensitive to all concerns.
“We are expecting push back about noise and traffic,” he said. “This is going to be a long, slow process.”
He said current concepts include building a barn in the back to show films and hold events, using the house as office space and possibly for some other nonprofit, and allowing the land in the back to be farmed.
Founded in 2001 as a home-grown winter film festival for year-round Islanders, the organization has grown and expanded through the years to include more events and educational programs, including for families and children.
The March film festival continues. A summer film series that includes community dinners and panel discussions also is held at the Chilmark Community Center and in other places around the Island, including the Tabernacle and Performing Arts Center. Cinema Circus is a summer film program for children. This summer the festival will host its first summer filmmaking camp for young people.
“The idea is to not just show films but provoke discussion and debate so it becomes a richer learning experience for people,” Mr. Bena said.
The festival’s office is currently housed adjacent to the Chilmark Tavern at Beetlebung Corner.
Mr. Bena said he is excited at the opportunity to move permanently to West Tisbury, “in the heart of the Island.”
He said film festival leaders are actively fundraising and hope to raise $2 million by the time of the closing.
But for now, he said he is extending an open invitation to community members to walk the property with him and give him their ideas.
“I really want to go slowly. I can’t stress that enough.”
Comments
Somebody get me a bucket of
Moviebuff Down IslandSomebody get me a bucket of popcorn. This looks like a good one.
I hope the MVC looks long and
BS OBI hope the MVC looks long and hard at this commercial enterprise on Old County Rd. It could send a very bad precedent for the expansion of commercial property in WT
An ill conceived plan if ever
Protect the Village West TisburyAn ill conceived plan if ever there was one! Placing a movie theater in the historic district of West Tisbury. I guess Chilmark has had enough. Get the popcorn ready for a protracted battle with the town and the commission.
Please tell me this is a joke
WTfarmer West TisburyPlease tell me this is a joke! One of the most historic properties in the center of West Tisbury to become a movie theater! Being allowed to do a large commercial mega project in a historic, rural and residential area doesn't mean you should. There are lots of mixed use properties on MV that would be way more suitable.
WT Farmer, Thomas Bena called
Richard Andre West TisburyWT Farmer, Thomas Bena called me two weeks ago to inform me of his radical plans. I listened as he explained his vision to create a vibrant campus on this property which included moving all activities currently held in Chilmark, and other island towns, to the heart of West Tisbury village. They included the March festival, the MVFF Summer Series (where they show movies 2-3 times a week late at night during July & August), a weekly circus and a summer camp. I commented that this was very big ask!
He said he was prepared for the fight. When I asked about other more suitable mixed use properties his reply "I don't want to be like the MV Film Society and build a movie theater in a strip mall!
Did he really say "strip mall
Joanne Lambert Oak BluffsDid he really say "strip mall" about the Tisbury Mkt Place? I was already thinking that this venture is pretty much strictly for rich summer people to enjoy... feel alienated by that remark.
Well, this sure looks to me
Islander Born up, live downWell, this sure looks to me like a "My Film Society is Bigger than your Film Society" situation.
Richard Paradise has built up a great institution and has as far as I know been willing to collaborate with lots of groups so that many can enjoy the benefits of the facilities of the new film-oriented nonprofit. Note bene the environmentally sound approach of rehabbing old theaters but not "repurposing" as they are being returned to the use for which they were built. Also, theaters in the middle of town mean that you can get there by walking or public transit. The Tisbury Market Place is not a strip mall!!
I am horrified that Bena and his team dream of suburbanizing West Tisbury. Some may call the town precious, but I for one enjoy driving or biking through WT and just "knowing it's there."
This looks to me like a vanity money-is-no-object vanity project. Just Say No, West Tisbury!! BTW, why don't they do this up on their property in Chilmark?
Isn’t the founder of the film
JS up islandIsn’t the founder of the film festival the guy who rails against big houses and development? He made an anti-big house movie about MV. So I guess it’s ok if he’s the one doing the developing and building the big house, just no one else.
Yes, believe it or not it is
WT Resident West TisburyYes, believe it or not it is the same guy.
Here are a few quotes of his from various public meetings and from his own writing to the Gazette:
“... If people want a big house on the water, I say they move to Edgartown.”
AND “The movement to update the zoning bylaws..it’s about stewardship and preserving the character of the neighborhood”…
AND “ I believe with all my heart that we can take appropriate action that will save this incredible island for future generations”
AND “That stillness we all love, that’s gone now. When you walk down a winter road you hear generators blaring from big, empty homes… This is not something I am proud to teach my daughter, ...”
Now he wants to bring a 6,000 square foot movie theater, a circus and a myriad of other events with all their associated noise, traffic and pollution to a quiet, historic, residential neighborhood in West Tisbury that would be off limits to such a development if not for Mr. Bena’s BLATANT attempt to circumvent zoning bylaws for which he so passionately fights in his own town!
That stillness that we all love, gone forever. Shame on you Mr. Bena! I have trouble believing that the Board of the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival will let you get away with such disrespectful un-neighborly behavior.
The Planning Board of WT is
Protect the Village West TisburyThe Planning Board of WT is way to professional, thoughtful and considered to make the comment claimed in the article. I read the Minutes of the Planning Board Meeting where the MVFF informally presented thier plan. The board informed them that they would have to meet with other town boards and they will need a definitive plan showing all buildings and parking areas. They will need to establish all hours of operation and they were told that abutters would be notified when a public hearing occurs. Mr. Bena asked "what measure of say do the abutters have" Can you imagine the nerve! He sounded very different from his PR quotes in this article.
The Planning Board explained that they are able to weigh in to the board before any vote on the project/plan. They were told that the plan would be referred to the M. V. Commission and to get information regarding developments of regional impact.
I've just read the Minutes of
Jim Dickerson Vineyard HavenI've just read the Minutes of that Planning Board Meeting, I noticed Steve Bernier was present. I wonder what his involvement is?
Jim, He is the board
JS West TisburyJim, He is the board president of the MVFF. I'm guessing he is also the guy who cuts the check if they don't raise the $1.4 million. I'm surprised he would want to hitch his wagons to this endeavor and most likely alienate a good chunk of his customer base.
The story has been updated to
EditorThe story has been updated to include a link to the March 28 planning board minutes, where the matter was discussed.
However good an idea this may
John Siffert West TisburyHowever good an idea this may be, the location could not be worse. This is a quiet, historic, residential community with schools nearby. The proposal for movies to be shown until 10PM with parking for 60 to 75 cars will have an extreme and negative impact on this area. Interestingly, the Chilmark Community Center is unable to sustain the existing traffic. Surely there are more appropriate venues on the Island for this kind of venture.
They want to build a 6,000 sq
Concerned WT Resident WTThey want to build a 6,000 sq. ft. movie theater. I never hear anyone say we need another movie theater on the island. As a matter of fact, there are 2 theaters falling into disrepair in Oak Bluffs. Wouldn't this be a better location, considering that it wouldn't require any new development or destruction of a beautiful, historic, homestead?
Bena is an advocate for minimal construction, why wouldn't he take his own advice and at least try to restore something that is already in existence rather than construct something new?
we only have one theater in
skip OBwe only have one theater in disrepair, The Island. The Strand underwent significant restoration a year ago thanks to the Martha's Vineyard Theater Foundation (mvtheaterfoundation.org) and is now operating.
Fine. Let them take over The
mark reisman west tisburyFine. Let them take over The Island.
I say that the reuse and
Elizabeth Stocker West TisburyI say that the reuse and continued programming of the existing movie theatres is a much better idea. Why add yet another theatre when you could upgrade the existing in town theatres? Program the venues so that they are in use more often and funding upgrades. Then there would be No need to add a parking lot where agricultural endeavors should be pursued.
From what I hear already,
Charles B. Kernick West TisburyFrom what I hear already, opposition to this plan could easily rival anything you've ever seen on this island.
One questions whether the
Another Concerned Citizen West TisburyOne questions whether the Film Festival’s Board of Directors has thought through the implications of attempting to locate a movie theater masquerading as an “educational facility” in a residential and agricultural zone in the midst of an historical district. Have they considered how divisive this plan will be to the island as a whole, or how it would fundamentally change the character of the street and the town? Are they prepared for the substantial litigation costs likely to ensue if they choose to go forward? West Tisbury already has ample community space in its excellent new library, Grange Hall, and Agricultural Hall. If the Festival wants a permanent home, surely they can find a location better suited to their aims and one that the community would support.
As an abutter, I am obviously
Jonathan Hartzband West TisburyAs an abutter, I am obviously concerned about the traffic, noise, and overall change to the character of my neighborhood. However, the thing that should concern all West Tisbury residents is that if this is allowed to happen, it would set an alarming precedent in our town. The MVFF - an organization whose primary function is entertainment - is claiming that as an organization with educational status, they can circumvent local zoning laws and build a movie theater in a residential neighborhood because they offer a few classes for kids. If this is allowed to happen, then it seems like any organization with some educational component can do something similar. How about building a music venue that hosts loud concerts, but also offers music classes on Lambert's Cove Road? Perhaps a restaurant in Seven Gates that provides cooking instruction for kids?
All valid points!
Katie Rhodes WTAll valid points!
Agreed.
Steve Tully West TisburyAgreed.
Hang on, do you mean to tell
Moviebuff Down IslandHang on, do you mean to tell me there are two movie nonprofits here with millions spilling out of their coffers? And there is some sort of rivalry? I always just assumed it was one "educational" organization. More popcorn please.
This is all together a bad
Bane McNulty Oak BluffsThis is all together a bad idea. First, nonprofit or not this is not a commercial area its residential, I know I'd be pretty upset if I lived there and they built a giant theatre and a parking lot. That part of the island is virtually untouched to commercial development and I really hope it stays that way. I hope the Town of West Tisbury takes a good hard look at what a sad site this would be in one of the most beautiful places on this island.
Enough!!! Everyone comes
Truthteller CAEnough!!! Everyone comes here espousing the lure of the island and its quietness and peaceful neighborhoods and beauty of nature unbridled...then, something happens and all of a sudden!!!! wait, we should have this, we should have tha, we should have The Mainland!!! What is so horrendous about quietness? What is so horrendous about reading a good book in a hammock? why the attraction of noisy pursuits? Enough!!!
Exactly.
Barbara Armstrong MenemshaExactly.
Plenty of peace and quiet off
Year roundPlenty of peace and quiet off season. What's wrong with creating some cultural spaces for us on island, year round?
Cultural spaces are great and
Concerned WT Resident WTCultural spaces are great and welcomed in our town and on our island - in the properly zoned regions! Transforming a residential property into a commercial entity by finding a loophole in the law is a jerk move.
WT has a truly awesome
Susanna J. Sturgis West TisburyWT has a truly awesome "cultural space" in its library. Featherstone Center for the Arts and the Vineyard Playhouse aren't all that far away. Neither are several other libraries. These places and others are all open year-round.
you can do anything it seems
mike west titsburyyou can do anything it seems when your under the guise of a "non-profit" throw buzzwords such as "local" "green" "children" "farming" "affordable housing" into the mix and you basically have a free pass
i will say this, look at the new bowling alley, i haven't been there, im sure its nice, lots of people seem to like it, but every time you turn around there asking for more lenient measure, measures to which they originally agreed upon, IE advanced septic, no booze after ten pm, etc
i give this guy a year before he asks for weddings, events and what not because they cant pay the mortgage on showing films alone, maybe he will say its just weddings for "locals" or something like that and next thing you know its circuit ave on old county!
I don't know what all the
Pepper OBI don't know what all the fuss is about, who needs an empty piece of land? Ya know what else would be great next to the theatre, a Del Taco. Or how about one of those KFC/Pizza Hut combos they have on the side of the highway. Joni Mitchell was wrong we should pave paradise. Come on people!
Bad idea, Incompatible with
Peter Taliaferro BaltimoreBad idea, Incompatible with WT placidity.
What's wrong with the
Bane McNulty Oak BluffsWhat's wrong with the chilmark community center, or better yet we had an amazing movie theatre on circuit ave that's falling into the ground. Why not buy and fix that up?
Chilmark people in the summer
Elephant On The Island ChilmarkChilmark people in the summer don't want to go to OB and have to compete with parking, the crowds of tourists and the stigma associated with down island.
But they can live with going to West Tis for a couple hours.
Oh, boy are you right there.
Dennis Tellers Weymouth (Wessagussett)Oh, boy are you right there. Once upon a time I worked for 4 years in Chilmark and would hear Chilmarkers brag (rather arrogantly) that they never ventured down-Island (anything past the WT Cronigs) for an entire summer. God forbid, they would have to fight their way into the riff-raff of OB. Then again, when it's Halloween trick-or-treating, those up-Island kids swarmed into Vineyard Haven. Loving the rabble here ... from a distance.
The "stigma" of down island?
MarieThe "stigma" of down island?
You so need this building. You are not as special as you think. Why shouldn't down island folks visit your part of the island? Are you afraid of people who are not like you?
Take it down a notch.
After graduating from an Ivy
Katrina Norquist Up IslandAfter graduating from an Ivy League school and spending time in intellectual communities on the mainland, it is unappealing to go down island and step over nip bottles and be inundated with roustabouts. Who can blame one for preferring a better environment up island? If anything the individual above is far too courteous!!!
I am glad to see that you do
MarieI am glad to see that you do not hide your disgust for Oak Bluffs behind the "peace and tranquility" facade.
Up island just thinks that they are better than the rest. Thanks for the confirmation.
That's a really snobby thing
Dean Rosenthal EdgartownThat's a really snobby thing to say, Katrina, and I really hope it doesn't reflect on your up-Island values. I can say this coming from the same mainland communities you are coming from, you really sound not right. Maybe you are thinking about Oak Bluffs in the peak of the season, I can't imagine that you ever visit L'etoile or Atria or The Sweet Life and step over nips. Keep it to yourself if you really have this kind of problem – it's in your head.
Oh bother, Dean! Most of the
Kristina Norquist Up IslandOh bother, Dean! Most of the places you mention are in Edgartown. I assure you I am "quite all right"- preferring a calmer, peaceful and cultured environment to cigarette smoke, intoxication and profanities is a most reasonable approach.
After living up Island for 13
Brian Smith Oak BluffsAfter living up Island for 13 years I recently moved to OB and absolutely love it! I didn't go to an Ivy League school but I'm a hell of a lot smarter ( and kinder) than you!
What does your "ivy league"
MarieWhat does your "ivy league" degree and "intellectual communities" have to do wirh anything?
You don't want to encounter the people from Oak Bluffs, you look down on them. Your degree does not make you a good person.
Oh my gosh. Your pompous self
Apalled Up islandOh my gosh. Your pompous self promotion is appalling and has little to do with the issue at hand. Education, by the way, is supposed to broaden the mind. Your Ivy League experience seems to have constricted yours! Your comments are elitist and embarrassing. . Take a Xanax and understand that the spoiling of a beautiful and pristine part of west Tisbury is a really bad idea. Repurposing is the responsible way to go.
I can assure that the up
Dean Rosenthak EdgartownI can assure that the up-island is no more cultured than down-island, which is home to the Vineyard Playhouse, KCT, classical music at Whaling Church, the Martha's Vineyard Chamber Music Society, the MVPAC (they hosted Paul Taylor, just over the winter), MVFC, and frankly one of the best beaches on the island in Lambert's Cove, which may as well be in Tisbury. You are truly also missing great restaurants in VH like Little House, Scottish Bakehouse, and Beach Road (apparently the president's degrees at Columbia and Harvard law count for little in choosing dining establishments). You are trashing Healthy Additions, Cronig's, Stina Sayre, and Vineyard Grocer, and that's just Vineyard Haven. I can see why you are digging in, but I am certainly glad that I do not live near Menemsha in the summertime. Why are you taking the opportunity to trash your neighbors? But I find it amusing that you somehow equate rural with cultured. There are plenty of Ivy League degrees to go around in each town. Whatever your point is, I think it's only classist, which is ugly. You're completely inaccurate, just on point of fact But to each her own, you ought not patronize any of the locales we're discussing - you apparently have no taste for where they are located. Pockets of down-island are messier simply because there are more people. Get a grip!
Speechless!
Deborah Bargon Oak BluffsSpeechless!
West Tisbury was and still is
10th Generation West Tisbury-iteWest Tisbury was and still is a place for farmers and for those residents who at leisure have preferred to gaze up into the inky dark sky and wonder at the planets and stars. The emerging sounds of night, of pinkletinks announcing spring and the whispered calls of owls have been entertainment aplenty. Many still live by the crow of the cock. This is a rural town punctuated by several historic districts of immense worth and charm in the village and to the island overall. The Grange Hall, New Ag Hall and WT Library already celebrate the best of this Athens of the Island, providing forums, art and crafts festivals, films, musical programs, while welcoming all to the Fair and farmers’ market. Our roadways are saturated enough and our water supply is fragile. Please rethink this ill-conceived plan and dangerous precedent and find a more appropriate home for the Vineyard Film Festival as you are not welcome here!
I love the vibrant, urban,
Gregg Harcourt Vineyard HavenI love the vibrant, urban, working class, tourist traffic scowling mess of Vineyard Haven. I live in the heart of it. When I have my boys Mattie and Sunny (5 and 9 yrs old) with me they can wander out the side door over to G&B's to see how the new boat is coming along. Out the front door 15 feet away we can look in Dan's window at the Workshop Gallery to see what intricate beauty of a land/urbanscape he is working on. Around the corner pick up a paper in front of the Times, cross Bochland then snake the backway through the Blackdog compound to Stop & Shop and get some organic kale and maybe some discounted Ben and Jerry's. We'll walk over to the Post office, next to the Printer and say hey to Lindsay, back to the Thrift Shop, through the stinky fish processing and mopeds, peek in at Mugwump and finally cross over to our little "strip mall" where we can get a Lego at the Toy store..... I love it that Richard Paradise found a place for the MV film society in this setting.
Our funky shack home in town is pretty great but most of the free time my children and I have together is spent wandering the trails and beaches of our rural environment. What an amazing and unique place to grow up. It is of utmost importance to protect the last undeveloped land that is left on the Vineyard. The parcel being discussed could be bought and donated to the Landbank for our children to wander.
I hope TMVFF can find a new home (if they need one) but why not locate where we need rejuvenation, not where it would be disruptive or antagonistic to the environment or the rural community.
Well said, Gregg!! I love
Vineyard Haven ResidentWell said, Gregg!! I love this description of in-town living!
Everything about Greg's
Rick Webb WTEverything about Greg's comment I agree with, except picking up a newspaper from the times. I wouldn't want my kids seeing me do that! ;)
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