Many Nantucket employers, including island non-profits, face a daunting challenge in housing their employees. A recent gift from Tupancy Harris Foundation will go towards filling the need.

At the Wiggles Way groundbreaking celebration, housing advocates’ faces were all smiles, despite the frigid temps and snowfall.

To hear that families earning $175,000 per year qualify for affordable housing shocks those unfamiliar with Nantucket’s housing situation. But those who have been coming to the island for years have noticed how things have changed. They recognize the increasing difficulty that working families have in finding suitable housing. They realize without these families, Nantucket cannot function.

Viable solutions

Housing Nantucket is the island’s only nonprofit dedicated to creating affordable rental and homeownership opportunities for year-round residents. Our housing includes over 100 covenant ownership homes and 38 year-round rental units, scattered in neighborhoods throughout the island. We appreciate the community’s support, and we are grateful to our year-round workforce for the sacrifices they must make to live year-round on Nantucket.

Community Makes it Happen

This year, we give special thanks to Nantucket voters and officials for the $3.6-million grant and $6.75-million loan to Housing Nantucket from the Nantucket Affordable Housing Trust for our development of the Wiggles Way project. Wiggles Way will add 22 new units of affordable year-round rental units on Fairgrounds Road, right next to the Faregrounds Restaurant. After relocating and repurposing the existing structures from the property purchased from the family of Joan and Wiggles Coffin, we worked with the Historic District Commission to design eight attractive multi-family structures. These will begin to arrive on-island this January. We hope to be able to welcome residents of Wiggles Way as early as July 2022.

Reliable Funding Source Needed

For the future, we know that a real estate transfer fee to fund local affordable housing trusts will help Nantucket and communities across the Commonwealth to better meet the needs of our citizens. We urge the Massachusetts Legislature and Governor Baker to promptly pass such legislation so we can do even more projects like Wiggles Way.

Grateful to our supporters

Thank you to all of our supporters and donors, including The Community Foundation for Nantucket, ReMain Nantucket, and Tupancy-Harris Foundation, as well as the summer and year-round residents who enable our work of providing affordable homes for island families. Please visit housingnantucket.org/donate to learn how you can help.

Summer residents Jamie and Elyse Leventhal made a positive, lasting community impact with the donation of their three-bedroom home. Follow along as the dwelling makes the journey to its new home.