The Martha’s Vineyard Commission bought an Oak Bluffs property last week that will be the new home for its executive director Adam Turner.

The commission paid $710,000 for the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Tia Anna Lane off County Road, a residential area of modest homes near the Lagoon. The seller is Christopher N. Hoxsie.

The purchase marks a first for the regional planning commission, which formed a committee last year to explore the possible purchase of some kind of staff housing amid the ongoing housing struggles on the Island, where real estate prices are out of reach for people with moderate incomes and year-round rentals are scarce at any price.

Commission chairman James Vercruysse, who spearheaded the formation of the committee, told the Gazette by phone that housing the executive director was a good first step.

“We thought about the idea because we’ve lost staff several times in the past,” Mr. Vercruysse said. “Adam was in that position where he couldn’t afford a house here. We decided he was our highest priority on the staff.”

He said the property was chosen because it is near the MVC offices and large enough to allow for a guest house to be built in the future as possible housing for other employees.

At a meeting last Thursday, commissioner E. Douglas Sederholm described the lease agreement, which among other things requires Mr. Turner to pay 30 per cent of his income for rent. Mr. Turner’s salary is just over $107,000. The commission will subsidize the rent at $325 a month.

Mr. Vercruysse said the commission paid for the property using equity from the Olde Stone Building on New York avenue that houses commission offices and adjacent parking lot. He said the two properties are assessed at $1.4 million, of which the commission was able to use $750,000.

“The budget numbers worked out better than we had hoped,” Mr. Vercruysse said.

Speaking to the Gazette by phone on Monday, Mr. Turner said his family has begun the process of moving in and looks forward to the stability after living in seasonal housing since he moved to the Island in 2015.

“I’m happy and definitely respectful of the commission for taking it on,” he said. “I think it will make me more productive.”

Mr. Vercruysse said the commission is applying for grants to improve the Tia Anna Lane property.

“We hope to provide more housing if we can afford it for more staff,” he said. “This is a good start.”