Commercial real estate redevelopment projects are beginning to proliferate along Beach Road in Vineyard Haven, with properties changing hands at a steady clip in the densely built, flood-prone harborfront corridor running from the head of Main street to the drawbridge.
Commercial real estate redevelopment projects are beginning to proliferate along Beach Road in Vineyard Haven, with properties changing hands at a steady clip in the densely built, flood-prone harborfront corridor running from the head of Main street to the drawbridge. A key accelerator for the projects is Vineyard Wind, the international consortium that is in the early stages of building the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm 12 miles south of the Vineyard.
Two Beach Road properties were sold last week in unrelated sales totaling some $5 million: the former Edu-Comp building and a portion of the former Hinckley’s lumberyard. Both are planned for redevelopment. Farther down the road, Vineyard Wind is also in the throes of obtaining permits for a massive redevelopment project at the Packer marine terminal, to be used as a staging area for offshore wind farm maintenance crews.
On Feb. 11, a real estate developer completed the purchase of the former Edu Comp property, paying $2.4 million for the familiar red brick building at the head of Vineyard Haven’s Main street.
The sellers are the family of the late Pat and Dorothy Gregory, who ran a successful electronics business there for two decades. The buyer is KXA Capital LLC and its principal, Xerxes Aghassipour.
Mr. Aghassipour, who goes by Xerxes Agassi, is currently before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission with a plan to renovate and expand the 7,686-square-foot building for mixed commercial and residential use.
A hearing before the commission on the plan is scheduled to resume March 3.
Recent documents filed with the commission in connection with the proposed development show that Mr. Agassi has signed a memorandum of understanding with Vineyard Wind to lease office space in the building to Vineyard Power; the memorandum also contemplates an agreement to provide workforce housing in the planned apartments. The Island’s nonprofit energy cooperative, Vineyard Power is an affiliate of Vineyard Wind.
Also on Feb. 11, Harborwood LLC, which owns the former Hinckley’s lumberyard at 61 Beach Road, sold one of two lots on the property to Carlos Teles for $2.5 million. Mr. Teles is the owner of Island-based Teles Landscaping. The principals of Harborwood include Island real estate developers Reid (Sam) Dunn and Robert Sawyer.
As part of the sale, land records show that Harborwood granted a $1.4 million mortgage to Mr. Teles. The complicated sale grants Mr. Teles an easement for a septic system and leaching field on the property, but Harborwood will retain all rights to a sewer connection for the piece of the property it did not sell. A series of other rights and easements granted to Mr. Teles will expire if Harborwood sells the remaining part of the property, according to the records.
And a sale is apparently contemplated — to Vineyard Wind. According to land records, in September 2021 Vineyard Wind signed an option with Harborwood to buy part of 61 Beach Road; no terms are specified in the recorded document.
Harborwood took ownership of the vacant lumberyard in 2018, soon after it was sold for $2.3 million to a trust controlled by Larkin Reeves. At the time the property was in bankruptcy.
In 2019 Harborwood filed plans under Chapter 40B of Massachusetts laws to redevelop 61 Beach Road into a mixed-use, 68-unit housing complex with 6,000 square feet of commercial space. That project has been on hold before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission since 2020, and in light of the more recent transactions, its status is unclear.
Meanwhile, Vineyard Wind’s multi-million-dollar Tisbury marine terminal project cleared approvals with the MVC last October, and is currently under review at the town level.
The largest waterfront development on the Vineyard in recent memory, the project includes the creation of a new 40,000-square-foot pier deck and bulkhead on the Vineyard Haven harbor, three vessel berthing areas and more than 70,000 square feet of underwater dredging.
A public hearing before the Tisbury conservation commission saw discussion early this week, but town conservation agent Jane Varkonda told the commission the project requires a harbor permit, which means it will go before Tisbury’s waterways committee and then to the select board.
“The board of selectmen have to have a public hearing,” Ms. Varkonda said. “I don’t think we can do anything until that process is completed.”
A slew of other state and federal permits for the terminal redevelopment, which will involve harbor dredging and construction of a breakwater, are still pending.
Louisa Hufstader contributed reporting.
Comments
68 housing units sitting on
George Stein Oak Bluffs68 housing units sitting on the table for two years ? Affordable housing no less. Does this become another hot button item that is perpetually ignored? Blow off a new high school, ignore waste water deficiencies… morality as a fantasy at this point .
It’s encouraging that more
Chip Coblyn OBIt’s encouraging that more housing is planned as a part of these projects. Lack of homes is one of our most urgent island issues, but climate change is right up there too. Are there plans to address the inevitable flooding?
I’m experiencing a traffic
Steve ChilmarkI’m experiencing a traffic jam just reading this.
You can solve the housing
Robbie OBYou can solve the housing issues by having a passenger only high speed ferry that runs till 1:00 AM. This way restaurant workers could commute back and forth off island where there is plenty of housing. This would also solve worker shortages the restaurants are experiencing. Restaurants and other businesses would see supplementing this cost is much lower than paying for island housing. This also takes the burden off island tax payers. But the steamship won’t allow use of their ports because they are a monopoly. Time to start looking outside the box and see there are other solutions.
You don’t think there is a
CarolineYou don’t think there is a housing crises already on the cape? There is. This doesn’t solve anything.
Have you tried to rent on the
Kenny Oak BluffsHave you tried to rent on the Cape? And you definitely need a car there (+insurance, gas, parking costs) if you can find a "reasonably" priced rental anywhere on the Cape. There is no equivalent VTA, which has wide accessibility across Martha's Vineyard.
I totally agree. We should
BS Oak BluffsI totally agree. We should focus on taxpayer funded high speed ferries from the Cape and New Bedford. A much better investment. Plenty of people would commute to the island to take advantage of our higher wages. It's not at all uncommon for people off island to commute an hour or two for work.
Oh. This should help the
JG OBOh. This should help the traffic situation. Those hoping to make a killing developing along here should be forced to come up with a solution for the headaches that their projects are going to exacerbate.
Nothing but nothing should be
ECS NPB/EdgartownNothing but nothing should be built w/out sewer connections. I am all for the wind farm; we enjoy the things electricity gives us, continue to over-populate the world so we need to 'pay' for our excesses. The wind farm industry can easily cash flow the payment of sewer plant upgrades and the infrastructure for the needed connections.
It certainly seems like
Down IslanderIt certainly seems like Vineyard Haven is on its way to becoming a company town.
It is quite ironic that Vineyard Wind will be running transmission lines underwater for miles snd miles in multiple directions, but it doesn't seem possible to bury the ugly power lines on Beach Road.
Can't we get Vineyard Wind to fix this for us?
There is an enormous amount
Frank Brunelle Beach RoadThere is an enormous amount of wiring being put underground presently on Beach Road. From what I gather from talking to workers on the project all of the communication lines have underground conduit already. I have been told that all other Eversource projects along waterfronts such as this go underground for reasons of safety. I was also told recently that Eversource has started asking for bids to put all the lines underground on Beach Road but my source says this is a rumor that is floating around and the timeframe is 3 years approximately from now. Obviously, it was a huge mistake to move them in the way that they chose and there are already many property owners who have put their wiring underground including a stretch from our place to Scripps Pharmacy. It is not hard to do and there is a ton of it already. Tisbury Selectmen would need to put pressure on this to make it happen I would imagine.
I've been waiting for buried
Michael OBI've been waiting for buried lines there for years.
Please consider this.
Please.
Burying the power lines
Doug Oak BluffsBurying the power lines requires every user along the line to foot the bill for connecting their individual power service underground as well. Is that a burden you'd like to pass along to the Beach Road businesses and residences ? And what about Cable TV and Telephone lines ?
The power lines along Beach
Carlos Degotta TisburyThe power lines along Beach Road are at this time being moved and capacity being increased, the utility company who charges delivery fees for your energy delivery are responsible for the poles and conduits, why would another entity take on those costs, doesn't make cents. I hope someday the Vineyard Gazette will require readers that write in to use their names and towns of residence, instead of helping along the breeding ground of malcontents who hide their personal identity and residence. If one speaks in anonymity they are not adding to free and open public discourse, quite the opposite takes place, citizens of good conscience and reserve find themselves bullied and pillared by the ever-elusive moral majority.
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