January 21, 2022-  Today, we celebrated the beginning of construction at our Wiggles Way development, 22 units of mixed-income affordable housing on Fairgrounds Road. More housing stakeholders gathered for this historic event than we have seen together in a very long time. Despite the snowfall, wind, and frigid temperatures, our faces were all smiles. It felt good to be around friends of affordable housing efforts, both long-time supporters and newcomers to the scene.

Below are the poster boards displayed at our event, which illustrates the historic context and the project’s design. Tenants will be selected by lottery and from our Ready-to-Rent list.

As we broke ground, we reflected on where we’ve been and where we’re going. What started out as an idea brought forth by Tobias Glidden and Rick Atherton to allocate funding for neighborhood-appropriate community housing has taken shape into our Wiggles Way development. The overwhelming 2019 voter support authorizing this initiative continues to inspire us.

We are extremely grateful to the Coffin family, who believes workforce housing is a priority for the island and sought a buyer for their family’s land who would fulfill this goal. We applaud the work of Billy Cassidy, for his commitment to the design and liveability of the product, and his goal of making these apartments a place anyone would be proud to call home.

We are particularly thankful for the collaboration with the Town’s Affordable Housing Trust and municipal housing office, for this forward thinking public-private partnership that will serve Nantucket families for generations. Thank you to Matthew MacEachern and the Emeritus design team, for sharing your creativity with us.

Thank you to Town staff and the members of the select board, planning board, historic district committee members, finance committee, and community preservation committee. We acknowledge the efforts of everyone who participated in the challenging discussions around the project’s design. We also appreciate the thoughtful feedback provided by neighbors and any inconvenience they must endure during the project’s construction.

As we look to the months ahead, and the inevitable victories and challenges that lay before us, we hope these opportunities continue to strengthen our ability to work together, to communicate, listen and grow. Thank you for the opportunity to serve Nantucket in this way.

Read coverage of the event in the Inquirer and Mirror here.