A veteran housing project planned for Bellevue avenue in Oak Bluffs could break ground by next May after getting approval from the town’s zoning board of appeals this week.
A proposal to allow cities and towns across Massachusetts to assess a fee on high-end home sales has been left out of a revamped housing bill unveiled by state lawmakers last week. But housing advocates say the idea, which has long been a priority for the Vineyard, is far from dead.
On June 4, the select board debated potential amendments to town regulations that currently only allow for one rental of affordable housing on every 1.5 acres of land – limiting the number of units town housing projects can have.
As of 2023, an affordable house for the average Island family — costing less than 30 per cent of annual income in mortgage, taxes, and insurance — should cost $400,000. But the median single-family home on the Vineyard, as of this year, costs just over $1.3 million.
For years, Islanders have prayed for more affordable housing. A new plan in Aquinnah turns to a house of worship for an answer.
Members of the community and participants in the project gathered Wednesday for a ribbon cutting at Carl Widdiss Way, with the incoming tenants set to move in Friday.